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Sometimes it can be a struggle to get the information you want to get, even with all the avenues that are available. Sure the computer is great, it is a true marvel and if you’ve got the time to surf through the tons of information, it is the definitive source for what you want to know.
But time being what it is TV is still where many of us get our information. We all want to be well informed and TV is the easiest place for us to do it. Unless, like I said, you have the time to read every newspaper and surf the net endlessly nothing beats picking up the channel changer and tuning in to the news.
The problem I have been experiencing lately with the TV news has been inaccuracy. If you are basing your knowledge or facts on what you heard on the TV news, you’d better move quickly or take some notes on where you heard it. If you are challenged as to where you got your facts you inevitably fall prey to one of those people who has the aforementioned endless time. I don’t know about you but I really don’t like having egg on my face.
I think a lot of it comes down to the priorities of the people who are gathering the facts for the news stories we see. They may not have unlimited time, but it is their job. Maybe it’s because they are too busy in this “reality” based society collecting facts on stories that are not so much news as they are water cooler fodder for the masses.
Let’s see a raise of hands from all of you out there who are sick to death about hearing every grisly detail of the Scott Peterson trial. Personally I am sick of hearing his name and while it may sound callous, I don’t care now nor have I ever cared whether or not he did it. Also, I don’t think I should have to be subjected to updates as to what happened every day in court. The sad fact is that people are murdered here in California everyday, so what makes this one worth following every step of the way? It’s almost as if the news stations are trying to compete with all of the “reality” shows that are polluting our airwaves by creating a big hubbub around a case that shouldn’t have been more than a blip on the news radar.
But noooo, they have made it into the case of the year yearning for the bygone days and ratings of the OJ Simpson case. What gave that trial its juice was the fact that Simpson was a celebrity before the fact. This case should have been relegated to three phases, the investigation, the trial, and the sentencing, not an ongoing mini-series that has now made Scott Peterson a celebrity. This is not news and should not be the lead story on the news every time a juror is replaced.
I want to know what is happening in Iraq, the stock market, gas prices, real news stories that are going on that are far more important to my day-to-day life. And if it’s not too much to ask, I would like to have them reported accurately enough for me to discuss the topic without sounding like a complete fool. Especially when talking to my son Alex, which I feel victim to this week.
During the last couple of months we, or should I say Alex, has been on Halo 2 watch. It is a much anticipated new hi-tech video game that just came out a couple of days ago. The spin-doctors at Microsoft have been working overtime hyping this game to the max. They have been telling the masses that only a limited number of these games were going to be manufactured during its initial run, thus driving up what is called the pre-sale. So Alex took part of his birthday money and put down a deposit on the game, and paid it off when the time drew near for its arrival.
Well the day finally came and Alex could hardly contain himself. Just in case you think this is just a kid thing, think again. The video game industry now out grosses the movie industry in overall revenues. This last weekend the new Disney/Pixar movie ‘The Incredibles” was released. It had, by Hollywood standards, a monster opening weekend, $70.7 million dollars. But one thing topped it. That’s right, the sales of Halo 2, which in pre-sales alone did over $75 million. That combined with the walk in purchases put it well over $100 million. If you look ahead to Christmas its totals will probably be off the charts.
This is where the misinformation aspect of the evening news came into play. I should have known better than to make any half assed statement to Alex concerning the current state of the video game industry, especially when my information came from the TV news. I can’t play a majority of the games he plays because he just trounces me every time. I am from the Pong and Atari generation where the controller had one button and a joystick. By contrast, Alex’s controller has 14 buttons and 2 joysticks. When I get that thing in my hands it’s like I’ve completely lost all of my dexterity much to Alex’s amusement. Alex takes his video gaming very seriously, he not only plays the games, he studies them as well, which is fine with me. I would be thrilled if he pursued it as a career just as long as he doesn’t make me play them.
The other day while the news was on in my office one of the reporters started talking about the pre sale numbers of Halo 2, then proceeded to report that another game for the Playstation 2 “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” had topped Halo 2’s pre-sales. So in my attempt to share some common ground with my son about something he is passionate about, I mentioned what I had heard.
Let’s just say he didn’t take my misinformation lightly. All of the hype leading up to the game’s release had made him very protective of this game and nobody, least of all me, was going to diminish his allegiance to his new game. He let me know it in no uncertain terms that my information was flawed. Not wanting to make the situation worse I backed off thinking that I would be able to find something to back up my claims. After all I saw it on TV so it had to have some basis in fact, right?
Once again, those talking heads got me. I searched the Internet and all of the web sites of the potential TV stations I could have possibly been watching in hopes of finding some validation. I even went to Playstation’s web site thinking if what I had heard was true that they would at least be touting it, but no. I had either dreamt it or the reporter who ran the story realized his information was bad and had gone into hiding, probably knowing that I was looking for him. The information that I did find was that Halo 2 had the biggest opening of any video game. Unless I see or read something different, somewhere other than on the TV news, I will have to go with what I found.
Sorry Alex, you were right. Who said we can’t learn from our children. Oh, that must have been someone on TV.
The Shrub Speaks: We must continue the work of education reform, to bring high standards and accountability not just to our elementary and secondary schools, but to our high schools, as well. Washington, D.C., Nov. 4, 2004
B.D.’s Response: The problem is Dubya, while you are trying to say you want education reform, you need it yourself. Secondary schools ARE high schools!!
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