In any given week, I engage with media primarily through the internet (provided so generously by Comcast . . .I lied, they're not generous at all) and radio. I spend a lot of time listening to MPR and the Current (I was so proud to become a member this February-after years of freeloading I was finally able to give back). I have found through years of listening, that in 30 minutes of MPR, I can gain the same amount of news that 2 or 3 hours of watching CNN would provide. Granted there aren't any scrolling headlines and Carl Castle replaces Anderson Cooper, but I like it better that way.
In our post-9/11 society, so many of our sources of media have resorted to scare tactics to attract and retain viewers. I must admit that my political consciousness has come to maturity really only in the last 7 years or so and I don't remember which way news leaned throughout the 90's or before, but its amazing how formulaic it all is. "Organic Toothpaste: Environmentally friendly or poison?" Turns out its not poison. I have made an unconscious boycott of network news, no matter which way they alledgedly spin their 'fair and balanced material', instead I prefer perpectives of NPR, the BBC or CBC. They present the news as it happens, without the over dramatized sound effects and pundit ranting. They don't cater to sponsors, so the content is much less filtered. I like to think that it is the purest source of news available . . .not to mention the level of intelligence broadcasted when you start a conversation with, "I heard on MPR the other day . . ."
The fact that the Current is a Minnesota-based initiative gives me almost as much state pride as Kirby Puckett.
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