CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

My dear husband bought another hearing aid last month; now he has one in both ears. Those years of competitive shooting under a tin roof have caught up with him. People who have trouble hearing have to work so hard. They miss a lot, but it's not immediately evident. How could you possibly know what you haven't heard?

There are other ways to have a hearing loss. We have friends that we enjoy, but we would run into one another if the conversation got deeper than the weather. (Well, the weather is even politicized these days, so scratch that analogy.) These friends get their news from different sources than we do and it's no small wonder that they have different thoughts. The mainstream media (a variety of different channels) send out one message...and then you have another source for news over at Fox. Our friends have been told that Fox is not "real news" and what passes as news is just opinion by blowhards. I wouldn't be so motivated to watch, either...if I thought that was true.

May I offer a subjective and an objective example of change in the way mainstream news is reported?

Subjectively, when the Iraq War began (March of 2003), Mike and I were on a trip in south Arkansas in the Pooch Coach. We were only able to get one alphabet channel until Day 3 of the war. By that time, I was confused. We heard "shock and awe"...but at the same time, discouragement was the tone of the reporting. It didn't seem like the war effort was going well at all. Finally arriving in a camp site with cable access, we turned quickly to Fox News. It didn't seem like the same war! After that, we'd listen to Fox and then listen to another channel. In instance after instance, there was negativity and stories not deemed important enough for reporting. That slant created a far different picture.

But let's consider some hard, objective facts. The TV ratings report by Nielsen's (Friday, February 12, 2010) might be a clear example of what is happening in prime time. On that night, Fox had 2,323,000 viewers. All the rest TOGETHER had 1,637,000. Like it or not, there is topsy turvey going on in the news business. People no longer trust the networks for their news. http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/01/fox-leads-for-trust.html. Record numbers of Americans told the Pew Survey that they find news reporting to be inaccurate, biased, and shaped by private interests http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/business/media/14survey.html

If it is your opinion that Fox is an ultra-wacko channel, may I offer a challenge? Do a little comparin'. Watch the news on Fox (in addition to your favorite source) for a week. Compare what you hear...see for yourself...is there a difference? My favorite newscast is on during the 5-6:00 (CT) slot and is called "Special Report with Brett Baier". Brett finishes with a panel discussion that includes both sides of the issue. There are different panel members, but I find Charles Krauthammer very well-reasoned and thought provoking.

What's that AlkaSeltzer sez? "Try it, you'll like it." Well...at the very least it would be open-minded...

"Come, let us reason together..." Isaiah 1.18