Why I don’t give a damn about the news, and why you shouldn’t either

Aug 23 2010

I do not watch, read, follow, or care about “the news”. I’m talking general news. You know, stuff on CNN or KSL 5 (local NBC affiliate).* And I’m not exaggerating. I don’t care about it. Not one little bit. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

Extreme News Delay

I found out about the Haiti earthquake 2 days after it happened. The oil leak in the Gulf? Like over 3 days. Mosque new Ground Zero? Couple days delay. I asked Amy what other major news stories I might have missed, and she said “like the kid that killed Natalie Holloway killed another girl in south america.” I have no idea who Natalie Holloway is, or for that matter, that sadly, she is dead, or that she was murdered by someone doing more killing. Local things like flash floods in Draper, UT last week (just over the hill from me) or car accidents or this or that I find out the next day best case scenario, if ever. If I didn’t follow twitter and friends on FaceBook, I’d probably never find out this stuff. And know what? I don’t care. Maybe that sounds harsh. Let me explain.

News Junkie

I haven’t always been this way. There was the time during the gulf war of 2003 when we bought a TV just for cable news coverage and put Iraq maps on the wall of Secure Offer (precursor to Doba) to track the invasion. Time when I got way caught up in the 2008 election–and actually closely followed/cared about politics for a bit (whole other series of posts, no, actually an entire book on that subject. Politics. Blah.) And the time that was the proverbial straw that broke my back when in September of 2008, the Hanks family embarked on our Great American Road trip to South Dakota and points in between.

The News is making me feel like I’m dying.

If you remember, that’s when the economy was rocketing off a cliff and down to the depths. Bailouts, buyouts, massive failures of massive businesses. Work was stressful, road trip was stressful, and I was following all of this news–this massive flood of negativity and drama and emotions and interruptions to my vacation, and to my life, and to what I saw as my world. One night I told Amy, I think I’m having a heart attack. I couldn’t breath. I had pretty severe pain in my chest. It came and went a few times on that trip. Went to the Dr. after I got back, he said, you’re having Panic Attacks. Put me on some meds (I took once or twice if I remember). And that’s when it all hit me: The news is making me feel like I’m dying. WTF is up with that?! And it’s all coming from things that I have no control over whatsoever. Could they affect me? Yes. Can I do anything about it? No. So then why care. Why put it in my head? Why let it impact at all? Until it does, if ever. So I decided to bail on the news.

Addicted to News?

It was really hard to disconnect from the news. Part of my daily routine was to check MSNBC.com several times a day for news, and I’d watch the nightly news a few times a week. I couldn’t stop checking the MSNBC site. I finally edited my computer’s host file, added in all the major news sites, and assigned them bogus IP address.

“Safari can’t connect to the server” stopped the news dead in it’s tracks, and I quickly broke my news habit.

Now I find that I shun it. Airport TV on CNN? I sit far away. People start talking about something in the news? I just disconnect from the conversation. People tweet too much about the news? Unfollow.

I Do Not Care

Here’s the brutal, honest truth: While I can feel sad/sorry/empathy for the people in Haiti, I do not care about the earthquake. Nothing I can do about it (I did donate some $ to the cause). Natalie Holloway? Too bad, it really is. It’s sad. But do I need the sadness of that in my life? All of these things don’t impact me. 99.9% of the news DOES NOT IMPACT YOU. Unless you hear it, and put it into your mind, then it does impact you. Cause it’s in your head, in your frame of mind, playing with your emotions. Why bother then? When I had a brush with death and a boulder hit my leg, that’s news that matters to me. If your house burns down, you won’t need KSL to tell you about it. You don’t need CNN either, to debate and dispute and report and opine on a bunch of crap they drum up for ratings, TO SELL YOU ADVERTISING. All the rest of this stuff is smoke and mirrors and garbage drama that I do not have time in my life to bother myself with. Life is too short to be interrupted by all the things media companies choose to sensationalize, and I’d even say, traumatize you with.

So disconnect from the world of news. It’s incredibly liberating. You’ll have a lot more time and energy and cycles for what really matters.

* Technology news, ecommerce news, etc. I follow extremely closely as it matters intimately to my company, my job, and my career. More on where I get that targeted, filtered news in another post.

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11 Comments; Filed under Entrepreneurship, Personal
  • Jack Hadley

    Hey Jeremy. You are the first person I have ever met that things about this subject EXACTLY the same way that I do. I have not watched the news for about two years now. None. It moves me no closer to my goals. It improves my life in no way. And yes, one could argue that I am not a good citizen… But, I will go back to a limited dose to fulfill my civic duties soon—when I am ready. In the meantime, I’m focused on what’s important to me. My family, my business, and my relationships. Thanks for your great post.

  • Trajanking

    Great post Jeremy! I feel the same way. Due to the influence of the media, we tend to know what's going on without even trying to follow the news and I think that's enough. I don't even have a TV, but I always sortof know what's happening because the news is omnipresent. I like your proactive approach. The 24 hour news cycle has to fill 24 hours, so somehow a car accident in Tulsa becomes national news that has nothing to do with the rest of the world. The rest of the cycle is filled with “experts” and talking heads opining for hours on end and that informs no one. I think I'm getting a panic attack just thinking about it.

  • Curt, Wellington Florida

    I don't know you, don't know anything about you, I think your writing could be better, but DAMN you are right about the news. I can say that those news stories you mentioned hit me really late. And guess what, it didn't change anything. You're exactly right and I wish more people would wake up and take responsibility and think for themselves.

  • http://twitter.com/CFOwise Ken Kaufman

    Jeremy,

    Spot on, as always. I haven't watched or read the general news for over 5 years, and I'm still alive. In fact, I'd argue I'm better off. I have probably created something similar to you in that I have set my content management up to allow the news I am interested in to find me. Social media is changing the way we consume content, and I find it liberating!

  • Tomburrow0

    Our minds are computers. Or at least I have heard that is where the origin of computers came from. I do know this. put trash in yourr computer it will spit trash. I am a very positive person and I like to keep up with world events but I am careful not to watch enough to depress me. Tom

  • http://twitter.com/DarylTurner DL Turner

    The media is good for two things and two things only. Information and entertainment. I have always understood what I was working with. The media lives and dies by 4 seasonal ratings books. In between those periods they are busy with “sweeps” that engage you over a specific period of time with “series” oriented reporting. Knowing this enables me to keep everything in perspective. If I am going to split wood, I know I'll be working with an axe. If I'm going to consume any amount of media, again, I know what I am working with. No surprises. The media provides me with what I expect it to. Having said this, I do agree with “no media” days. I just hate when I am traveling via my car and I come to a complete stop and don't know why. I then turn on my radio to learn that I should have detoured five miles back due to an accident. One thing all businesses have in common, is money. We all need to generate a profit in order to justify being in business in the first place.

  • Ashnyc

    great post, i use to read the news all the time but it was a constant race to get more and more info. Then i got the reading bug and realized good books are worth there weight in gold. News was just blip in time, without a context, the news meant nothing. so now i read more books, and when i happen to read the news paper i could things in there context, it is much more satisfying

  • http://twitter.com/ryanevans ryanevans

    This is right on. There are only so many things a person can has capacity to care about and sensational news headlines shouldn't fill that up.

  • http://stronico.com Steve

    After the 2008 election I limited it to 15 minutes a day, and I'm much happier as a result. I do miss tech new though

  • http://www.sunsetiiienvironments.com Crystal Crystalsackett

    Hello Jeremy! I wonder how someone could actually speak to you in person???

    I will try to go through normal channels…”good luck on that”, she thought to herself. However, let’s see if I can find another way…. “since you’re being creative anyway”, her little bird said.

    I have 5000 units of a real cool, suspended media hanger, that was “mis-understood”… and I can relate to that! I can also relate to Cancer and all the rest of what occurs, when trying really hard to accomplish something and falling by the wayside… Thus, we have just posted a test and hope to get your attention to purchase these 5000 units, excellent margins for anyone to take advantage of… and be a great “stand out above the crowd”, for any of your customers that might like to do an add-on sale!!!! Please take a look at our ebay add to Beta Test the idea! FALLOUT NEW VEGAS w/DVD/Game Media Holder by sunsetiii. Sorry, can’t find a link.

  • Rxnichols

    Politics is business and business is politics. If you don’t follow the news you can’t follow the markets – if you don’t follow the markets you can’t manage your business. If you can’t manage your business you fail. Unfortunately, there is a great tug of war between those people who would ruin opportunity and those who create it. If you aren’t in the fight you aren’t in business. We must all be activists and join the cause. The opportunity you enjoy is not guaranteed – we all owe the same opportunity to our friends and children that we enjoy. Ignorance is not bliss for very long.

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