What I have could be called basic basic cable: the major networks, C-Span, and a bunch of channels that show sitcoms from the eighties. I get YouTube on the wi-fi via my Blu-ray player. I watch the Democracy Now! podcast. The morning headlines come pow! pow! one after the other. You really have to be on the ball to catch it all. Sometimes, I try to listen to the meditation music, but there are too many commercials.

When I had real cable, the twenty-four hour news channels were right next to each other. There were times that I’d be flipping through the channels and hear something intriguing on FOX. I generally disagree with the angle FOX News approaches current events–but I like to get information from different sources. I’m smart enough to see through the bias.

My mornings suck. The big three networks ( NBC, CBS, ABC) have only about five minutes of news at the top of each hour. After that, it’s all silly and useless. There are two local channels with morning news programs. I get better information from them than any of the networks. It’s the fifteen minutes of weather every half-hour that I dislike. Oh, and the idiotic banter is just excruciating.

Fast forward to 5:00 in the evening. There is an hour of BBC news. The first half-hour is called The Context. They focus on British and International goings on. Then it’s BBC World News America. Sometimes, I’ll watch part of the PBS Newshour. I get a couple of PBS stations. One shows the Newshour at 6:00 and the other at 7:00.

The big three bring their contributions to the world of American news at 6:30. All three of them suck. NBC dumbs things down too much. It’s insulting. CBS was cool until they started introducing banter into the broadcast. Banter! “The last time I was on a plane, blah blah blah…what was it like when you were last on a plane…?” Disgusting. So, I’m stuck with ABC. All they do is tease. “Someone you hardly know of has died today. We’ll tell you who later in the broadcast.” It’s a half-hour. I’m going to watch the whole thing! Is David Muir handsome? He seems a bit creepy.

I’ll usually top off the day with Inside Edition at 7:30. It’s a light take on the day. They show news that other outlets don’t have time for. What did they do with the rubble from the demolished East Wing? They put it in a public golf course for topping with dirt and grass. Inside Edition doesn’t have a political bent–they just sensationalize stories that they think will attract the biggest audience.

Studies have shown that Democrats watch more television than Republicans. That’s where your liberal media bias comes from. It’s all about ratings, all about money.

The big networks have a moment of levity at the end of each broadcast. It’s one or the other. A bunch of high school students pool their finances to buy the janitor a new car. Or, a young student is surprised by a parent coming back from war. They are so happy and excited! I wonder how that makes the children who have lost loved ones in the war feel.

American news is sinister and crooked. They harp on the dangerous things that are going on, so that stupid people are scared to leave their homes, and they sit around and watch more television. I’ve been an infomaniac, a news junkie, for several decades. The negativity in the news doesn’t bother me. I’ve become desensitized. I’m used to it.