TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Not knowing something does not make you stupid. No one knows everything, although Trump lies and tells you he does. Ignorance is not normal: it’s a choice. When information is available, but you choose to believe lies and half-truths, you choose to be ignorant. But the facts cannot be denied. In America, watching television news is ignorant. The fourth estate ceased to exist once and for all on January 20, 2025. Half-truths are more dangerous than blatant lies. A story, which contains a small amount of truth, is easy for the uninformed to accept as fact. Television news is a large factor in the dumbing down of America. Only one “information source” is worse: social media. If you spend any time on social media, you will soon become a moron. 99 percent of everything on Facebook, “X” and other fake news outlets is misleading and most often completely untrue. Currently, one issue is revealing the low level of intelligence of most Americans in the 21 st century. Thi...

Ted Turner is a billionaire. He cares about making money; period. In the late 1970’s he had an idea. Television News had become profitable. In the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s, the half-hour evening news was costly for the networks. Their on-air journalists were paid about as much as a man who worked in middle management in a factory. However, in the 1970s, s news became far more interesting and advertisers began to buy space on the then one-hour nightly broadcasts. In the 21 st century, what is called “news” is the most profitable segment on television. The war in South Vietnam continued to rage, and with it social and economic changes began across America. [The 1970s witnessed significant changes in America, marked by economic shifts, social movements, and political scandals. Key changes included a shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based one, the rise of feminism and gay rights movements, and a growing awareness of environmental issues. Additionally, the Watergate scan...