Amusing Ourselves to Death
In Chapter Seven of Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death, the author critiques television news, claiming that its flashy format has reduced reality to fluff for entertainment value. While there are some exceptions to Postman's perception of television news, in general the author is correct in claiming that television news is "news without context, without consequences, without value, and therefore without essential seriousness...news as pure entertainment," (100). At first it may be temping to disagree with Neil Postman's harsh criticisms of television news, especially those that are based on his claim that most newscasters have to have faces fit for magazine covers. Any cursory glance at some reporters reveals that at least some are overweight and comparatively unattractive. However, most, if not all, television news anchors have what Postman calls "credible" faces; otherwise, they would be doing radio news. Postman's critique of what so many Americans hold dear, television, is sadly true. Most television news, from local nightly services to 24-hour ones like CNN, are designed to hold viewers captive not with intelligent discourse but with sound bytes and bits of information that have no broad context. Postman provides
"Crossfire" is a supreme example of news-as-entertainment and the cult of the television news celebrity. Such notable stars as Bob Novak and James Carville duke it out like a couple of wrestlers, providing little more than entertainment. Like professional wrestlers, the "Crossfire" crew offers scripted commentary along binary lines. One takes the Republican side, the other the Democrat side, and issues are rarely resolved. The debates that fuel the show "Crossfire" provide the entertainment that keep viewers coming back for more. Although Postman does not suggest how television news could be improved to meet his high standards for public discourse, his observations are correct. One could object to Postman's critique based on the fact that television does have a limited time frame with which to deliver the news, and that in order to inform people, the media must be sufficiently entertaining. After all, there is nothing wrong with entertainment value. However, CNN solidifies Postman's claim that television news is the "idiot's delight," (99). For twenty-four hours a day, CNN delivers bits and bytes of information, which amount to entertaining but fluffy fragments of news. Prime time anchor Aaron Brown even devotes part of his show to reading the headlines from newspapers from around the country: news doesn't get any briefer or "now...this" than that. News on CNN is also divided into "shows," underscoring their connection with entertainment television. "News Night with Aaron Brown" is followed by "Lou Dobbs Tonight." These individual shows are listed separately in television guides much as "24" and "The Shield" are also listed side by side. Furthermore, CNN falls right into the television news pattern of making "celebrities of your newscasters," (Postman 106). "News Night with Aaron Brown" and "Lou Dobbs Tonight" are two of the most blatant examples of how anchors become prime time celebrities, as is the "Nancy Grace" news show. As Postman notes in his book chapter, Grace has a magazine face, with blonde hair and high cheekbones. Even shows that are not named after their anchors contain major news celebrities. Similarly, "Paula Zahn Now" is a CNN news show with an anchor/celebrity whose name graces the title. Zahn, like Grace, is blonde and attractive. As is often the norm in th
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Approximate Word count = 1547
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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