Althouse: I almost never watch anything political on TV anymore.

November 15, 2009

I almost never watch anything political on TV anymore.

It's so slow compared to reading... and you can't cut and paste.

AND... Tim Russert is dead.

45 comments:

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: And you don't have to waste time on whatever the TV folks want to show you. Reading is active, watching and listening is passive.; 11/15/09, 3:37 PM
kentuckyliz said...: In this blazing fast internet age, it seems like the radio and TV people are trying to play catch-up to the bloggers.

WV gentexp
The name of the line in one's monthly budget for cash needed for strippers...gentleman's expenses, for short.; 11/15/09, 3:41 PM
rcocean said...: Does anyone watch the Sunday chat shows anymore?

Just the same old blab blah. It always seems to be 3 WaPo/NYT/ABC/NBC/CNN reporters asking John McCain what he thinks.

Boring. Used to read the transcripts but stopped doing even that.; 11/15/09, 3:43 PM
Titus said...: I watched the movie Freeway with my British/Indian boyfriend last night and it was amazing.

Watch it bitches.

Reese tour de force.; 11/15/09, 3:50 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: In case anyone wants to improve what's on the "real news" shows on TV - not the openly biased shows like Hannity or Jon Stewart - do things like help me discredit John King. You can do that by:
1. If he lies, misleads, omits key facts, or doesn't press people, point it out (as I do above).
2. When someone presents him or CNN in general as a source of real reporting, ask why he didn't ask questions like the one linked from the page above but instead just asked a question about process.
3. Tweet at him; I tweeted the link above to him here.

It's within everyone's abilities to make TV better and encourage real debate, but the vast majority of those online either don't know how to do things the right way or spend their time on less important things.; 11/15/09, 3:54 PM
ricpic said...: The question of what is boring is interesting. I don't own a TV but I was on the road during the world series, watched most of the games from 1st to 9th inning and wasn't bored at all. And yet baseball is a notoriously slow game. Each game is three hours long give or take. To watch three hours of TV, whether politics or the travel channel or the food channel or 2 1/2 men would be excruciating. Not only boring but anxiety producing. Anyway, the baseball wasn't. Go figger.; 11/15/09, 3:58 PM
Jennifer said...: Freeway is one of my favorite movies of all time. Nice choice.; 11/15/09, 4:04 PM
blake said...: Tim who?

For those who don't know, Freeway is a sort of "Little Red Riding Hood" update.

With Keifer Sutherland. Er, Kiefer. (i before e....); 11/15/09, 4:08 PM
Anonymous said...: This is why I completely don't get the trend of online video. I rarely click; it just takes too long to get there. If I'm reading, I can vary my pace or skip around depending on my interest.

I like things that I can just listen to while I'm doing other things (like fixing dinner or washing dishes), so I guess I watch political TV at those times, though I don't look very often.; 11/15/09, 4:11 PM
Titus said...: I don't get the Little Red Riding Hood comparison.

I did read that too.

Also, saw Lars Von Tier's latest movie Antichrist-really hardcore.

First few seconds you see William Dafoe's hog in Gainsburg's cooch.

They do it while some opera shit is playing-so Avant Garde. So Lars.; 11/15/09, 4:13 PM
blake said...: Kiefer is da wolf.

Resse is da hood.; 11/15/09, 4:17 PM
blake said...: Which, I guess, is obvious.

She's on her way to grandma's house? Kiefer is seducing her away from that? It's not exactly "Company of Wolves" but it's there.; 11/15/09, 4:18 PM
Unknown said...: It was dead when Russert was alive. He was as big a shill as Stephi.

You have to go back (at least) as far as Brinkley for something even mildly enlightening.

WV "videt" What WACs used in WWII; 11/15/09, 4:24 PM
traditionalguy said...: I turned on ABC at noon to see what NFL was on tap, and there was a panel show with Chris Mathews, Peggy Noonan and two others. One was a English sneer master lecturing everyone on Palin's negatives polls, and one calmly saying Palin was only seeking money and would never run, and Mathews then predicted she would win the nomination based on her charismatic appeal compared to Romney who has has none. The priceless moment was seeing the pained and revolted look to that prediction on Noonan's face who cannot stomach a commoner like Palin in her party. So seeing their reactions when the news is happening live still does work better on TV.; 11/15/09, 4:35 PM
Anonymous said...: "And Tim Russert is dead."

True ... but Chris Matthews is still around, right?

Just saying that reinforces how far American journalism has fallen. You can't even take it seriously any more. I mean, what a joke.

Russert is turning over in his grave. Everything he built at NBC in a career spanning 30 years has been destroyed almost overnight by the Matthews/Olberman/Gregory wing of the Democrat Party.; 11/15/09, 4:56 PM
Mom said...: For the same reason, I almost never watch Bloggingheads, Reason TV or other online news/commentary video. I could read it much faster -- why waste my time?; 11/15/09, 5:02 PM
Bender said...: Who is Peggy Noonan?; 11/15/09, 5:46 PM
Anonymous said...: I hardly ever watch either. No one really converses or cross-examines. The pol makes an outlandish statement or lie and then the moderator says thoughtfully, "Thanks for appearing, Senator. Have a great weekend."; 11/15/09, 6:08 PM
amba said...: OT, your new ... what's it called, that line under the title (I'm getting senile) ... reminds me of the title of a Kathy Acker novel (love the title, haven't read the novel): Pussy, King of the Pirates.; 11/15/09, 6:09 PM
traditionalguy said...: Flexo...She is a weekly columnist for the Wall Street Journal and is a good word smith who once wrote the Gipper's best speeches. Her education level is so high that she doesn't even need to understand us low level common people, and that's her opinion she sticks to no matter what the facts are.; 11/15/09, 6:10 PM
El Presidente said...: It is all so boring and predictable:

Question?
Statement unrelated to question.
Restatement of question?
Restatement of unrelated statement.

If some interviewer would just say "Is that a no?" I would be a fan forever.; 11/15/09, 6:19 PM
PatHMV said...: I always wonder why so many bloggers (especially PajamasMedia types) are embracing on-line video so much. I never watch them, and I find it hard to believe that many people really prefer to sit there and watch some blogger-talking-head rather than actually read what the blogger has written.; 11/15/09, 6:32 PM
Titus said...: Right Blake and she had a basket and he was dressed as her grandmother while in gradma's bed.

Loved it.

Such an important and riveting film.

Kiefer-tour de force as well. His name had "wolf" in it as well.

I laughed, I cried, I was angry, sad. So many emotions, so little time.

And what can one say about Reese that hasn't already been said. A true artist.; 11/15/09, 6:40 PM
Donna B. said...: I thought I was alone in hating all the videos online now. If I watch one, it will be one of my grandchildren saying or doing something cute.; 11/15/09, 6:43 PM
Anonymous said...: "If some interviewer would just say "Is that a no?" I would be a fan forever."

Won't happen. Not the way the world works. Google: Bilderberg Group.

Members of the media have been made members of the group so that they can be co-opted.

Most major media figures make 7-figure salaries precisely because they're willing to go along with the charade. They want the money, so they go along. You can't get into the top echelon of major media in the United States if you're blackballed by the group.

People who ask pesky questions don't get invited to play at our reindeer games.

The vast majority of Americans have no idea how their lives are scripted and don't really care as long as the rent gets paid and the beer is cheap and the local sports collective has a winning season.; 11/15/09, 6:54 PM
El Presidente said...: If I was going to invent an online persona to mock people that believed in conspiracy theories the name would be Kennedy Bilderburg.; 11/15/09, 6:57 PM
Kirk Parker said...: "TV"? What's that--some kind of new internet-based service I haven't heard of yet?

OK, in all seriousness I get the fast-reading and cut-and-paste stuff for sure. When someone sends me a link to a video that's basically and interview, speechifying, or talking-head stuff, if there's no transcript I usually just give it a miss.; 11/15/09, 7:43 PM
Anonymous said...: "If I was going to invent an online persona to mock people that believed in conspiracy theories the name would be Kennedy Bilderburg."

Do you really think the Bilderberg Group is some sort of imaginary internet conspiracy theory?

If so, why does the NY Times cover the Bilderberg Group?

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/22/business/friendship-and-business-blur-in-the-world-of-a-media-baron.html?pagewanted=all; 11/15/09, 7:44 PM
Bender said...: traditionalguy -- you misunderstand me.

Who is Peggy Noonan?; 11/15/09, 8:25 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Generalissimo Franco is still dead!; 11/15/09, 8:41 PM
Elliott A said...: The problem is that everyone on tv must perform as expected or they will be: 1. Not asked back as a guest anymore 2. Become a pariah to their ideological co-conspirators. Audacity has no place. The written word still allows the individual to be just that. You can be a libtard one day and a wingnut the next depending on the topic. Since journalism is dead, it follows that the tv version has also gone to meet its maker.; 11/15/09, 8:51 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: PatHMV: remember JoeThePlumber? Famous for asking BHO a question? Well, in Feb. of this year, PJTV converted him to the host of a forum. That was either before or after PJTV used him as a war correspondent.

Now, if you're like me, you might be scratching your head, wondering why PJTV didn't send JTP out to do more of what he's famous for: asking a question. They could have easily hired him to go to townhalls and ask Regular Guy questions of politicians.

Instead of doing that, they homogenized him and pasteurized him, trying to convert him into something that many others do, and do far better.

At the same time, very few people try to put politicians on the spot.

Now, you might be thinking, why did PJTV (and their business associate Glenn Reynolds) avoid rocking the boat, putting pols on the spot, revealing pols' lies and so on?

Now, one explanation is that PJTV is just a paper tiger, interested in sucking up to politicians and not rocking the boat. And, they aren't interested in doing a public service but just want to pretend to oppose the MSM while acting like a cheap imitation of them.

I am absolutely positive there's a better explanation. No, really, I'm convinced there is. It's out there. Somewhere. You just wait. No, really.; 11/15/09, 9:14 PM
kentuckyliz said...: LOL amba
"That's Miss Galore to you!"

WV schiflit
thinking....; 11/15/09, 9:22 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: Also, I'd like to claim that Instapundit, PJTV, FreedomWorks, EricOdom, and all the other usual suspects didn't promote or even mention this tea party event from Saturday, so it would be great if others could do the legwork and see whether that's correct or not; I think it is but I don't really want to do the legwork.

If that's correct, I'm sure there's some perfectly innocent explanation why the aforementioned groups and persons promoted every other set of tea party events except those.

Like I said, there must be an explanation, and an innocent one. Maybe Maj. Ed Dames could RV it for us, or we could hire Geraldo to go hunting for it. Because, I know there's an innocent explanation. It's out there. You just have to believe.; 11/15/09, 9:33 PM
Apple Fanboy Dude said...: >> [TV is] so slow compared to reading...

I find that my patience for TV speed has gone down, too. One of the things Bloggingheads has done right is providing a high-speed playback option.

The iPhone/iPod does this too- for podcasts. You can play your podcasts back at 2x speed. It's a bit fast at first, but you get used to it. And then everything else seems slow.; 11/15/09, 9:38 PM
El Presidente said...: Florida,

My friend Kennedy Bilderburg just called. He is chuckling.

wv: Sheepor; 11/15/09, 9:45 PM
JAL said...: The sample (Althouse commenters) is obviously a skewing factor. (Is that how one says it?)

The commenters here like to comment. They like to read.

But someone must like television. One nice thing about television is one can have it on and NOT have to read it.

There are some people who can't bear to see words on a page or a cereal box or a screen without reading them.

Political coverage on TV? Can't stand to be lied to. Don't do TV national and international news either.

There is better coverage on the internet.

As for internet videos - I prefer reading, but do sometimes watch, and some of the PJTV vids are quite good.; 11/15/09, 11:05 PM
Robert Cook said...: LonewackoDotCom said:

"In case anyone wants to improve what's on the "real news" shows on TV - not the openly biased shows like Hannity or Jon Stewart...."

Um...you do realize John Stewart is not a news program, don't you? It's a comedy program, and as such, it has no obligation and doesn't pretend to report news or to be objective or fair.

That said, much of its comedy has to do with the idiocy of contemportary news reporting, as much as with the jackasses and gangster in Washingon and on Wall Street. While I think we can all assume how their political preferences skew, they do a pretty good job of holding all sides up for ridicule.; 11/16/09, 5:52 AM
Unknown said...: have you seen Fareed Zakaria's GPS ? that's the only one of the sunday shows that I can, and do watch ...; 11/16/09, 8:36 AM
Michael said...: Talking heads shows are for having on in the background while you cook. There's a reason they're always on around mealtimes.; 11/16/09, 9:39 AM
UK Houston said...: I never click the on-line videos either, but I'm 55 years old ... still in the print age. It would be revealing to know the age breakdown of those who watch video and those who prefer reading.; 11/16/09, 9:43 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I think it speaks volumes about the insularity of online media - a charge conservatives have lobbed at liberals in the old media - that Glenn Reynolds would link to this. So Ann doesn't watch network news shows, big whoop. Why is this worthy of a mention, except he knows her?

Hey Glenn, Oprah has been labeled, by Newsweek and more than a few online scientists and doctors, as delivering "dangerous" advice. Did you bother to run with it - or even mention it - when not only is it in the best interest of the country to know that but (by bringing her down a peg) it would help defeat the liberal cause she so openly supports? She brought us Obama, The Secret, and Mr. Killer Sweatlodge himself, James Arthur Ray - but still nothing.

Deepak Chopra speaks on politics now. He was also involved in the Maharishi Caper - a fraud perpetrated on the Journal of American Medicine - and a vocal supporter of Obama as well, but it's like Reynolds could care less, or - shades of Fort Hood - isn't capable of "connecting the dots" from these NewAge con men to our current liberal masters.

The Daily Kos was started by a psychic. Worth an mention? Not by Glenn. Sure, we can all pay attention if Pat Robertson lays out some cockamamy BS but the spiritual Left gets a free pass to do whatever they want (including murder) and it's just not worthy to one of the most-read blogs in the country - even if they're all connected to the liberal establishment and was a huge reason for all the "cult" talk during the election.

Ann doesn't "watch anything political on TV anymore"? Hell, in my opinion, when it comes to addressing the weak points of the opposition, we ain't seeing much original news gathering online either,...I love Ann, and Instapundit, but you guys have got to be kidding with this Lady Gaga fetish and such. The spiritual outlook of the left, in politics, is as valid as the attacks on the Christian Right - and (considering how kooky all this talk of "vortexes" and "energy" is - and the deaths they're associated with) would be waaay more effective, but you guys give us nothing.

As a conservative, I fail to see the difference between the pointless yammering on TV and what's offered online when there are these huge targets (well-known, rich, kooky, dangerous in multiple ways, and avid supporters of the Left) out there.

The Macho Response; 11/16/09, 11:50 AM
Beaverdam said...: I watch if they did it naked.; 11/16/09, 3:05 PM
Beaverdam said...: I'd, oops; 11/16/09, 3:06 PM
BJM said...: Me neither, it's just more of the same partisan monkeys flinging poo at each other. I'm taking a breather from political fare and national news for a while.

I did not even fire up a browser over the weekend after I stupidly and unnecessarily insulted Althouse on Friday, for which I sheepishly apologise.

Now I'm off to bake an apple pie and pot up well chilled Amaryllis & paperwhite bulbs.

btw- did anyone notice that Smith & Hawken went out of business?; 11/16/09, 3:10 PM