When I was a kid, there was a station called CNN Headline News on cable television. I didn’t have cable as a kid, but one of the local television stations broadcast it at 11:30 AM every day, for half an hour. It covered everything going on in the world. Now I was young so I can’t say this with certainty, but I never felt like there was a major slant or a bias in the reporting. With only half an hour to go over everything in the world, there didn’t really seem to be time for it.
Technically the station still exists, but the name has been cut down to HLN. It changed format in 2001, deciding to go with more opinion-based reporting. It eventually transformed into crime drama and tabloid programming, thus making me wonder why the name HLN even exists at this point.
The sad thing about something like Headline News is there isn’t much around to replace it these days. As I desperately seek truthful programming, I find myself skeptical of both sides of political puppetry. Have you ever visited the Fox News and MSNBC websites at the same time? It’s almost as if they are reporting two different Americas.
What makes me completely frustrated about the situation is that we live in a time that demands truth. We need to know what’s really going on right now, because many lives will depend on it. Yet on the same day a week ago I heard one news network completely ignore the threat of coronavirus and another refer to the crisis as an “existential threat” (even though the expert specifically said in his own words it would not be an existential threat).
The problem that has been created is not one person or one network’s fault, and it shouldn’t be treated that way. Conservatives believe the left-leaning media has tried for decades to further an agenda that appeases it. They called it out and began using words like “fake news” to address it. Of course now that we have terms like that in our vernacular, even credible news can be dismissed easily by those who don’t want to believe it.
I hate the way the news makes me feel, and yet I keep watching as if it’s some sort of a drug. What station do you watch when you believe in an unborn child’s right to life but also think we should be aware of what we are doing to the planet? Who do you listen to when you think the government should stay out of people’s business but you also believe a strong and well-funded public education system is the best path to success for our kids?
In the current time and reality we live in right now, a lot of the political arguments we thought were worth having need to be pushed to the back burner. What we need is results. What we need is encouragement. I think what we need is truth. Unfortunately, sometimes to get the truth we have to do our own homework. So decide what steps make the most sense for you during such a trying time. Find expert opinions and be careful who you trust. Most importantly, take care of your family, your faith, and everything else that gives you peace and joy. ‘Cause there’s nothing fake about that.