Once upon a time I was passionate about the news. I am going to give away my age here and reveal that I was in college when Kent State happened. I followed the news intently from that point on, since I figured my government was out to kill me, and I wanted to have at least some idea of what it might be getting up to next. I continued in this mode for a very long time until I got a job that required me to commute almost an hour and a half each way to work. I am a big NPR fan and I listened to "Morning Edition" coming and "All Things Considered" going. I watched CNN and subsribed to 3 newspapers plus I read my Mom's paper that she got each week from Switzerland. In all due modesty I was probably one of the best informed persons on the planet regarding current events. Then one day I was driving to work when the reports of the Oklahoma City bombings started to come in. I heard about those poor little kids in the day care center there. Tears started to roll down my cheeks and before I knew what hit me I was sobbing uncontrollably and had to pull off to the side of the Interstate. It took me a while to regain my composure and I was twenty minutes late to work that day. I realized that all those news reports were doing were telling me tales of suffering and horror that I was powerless to do anything about. My own life was difficult enough. I didn't need this other stuff on top of it all. I did a complete 180 and stopped listening to the news or reading the papers at all. If anything earth shattering happened, my friends would be sure to tell me. Now I get a little news (as much as I can stomach) from the headlines when I log onto the net. I'm happy this way and see no need to go back to being the news junkie I once was.

I'm engaged, I'd say. Sometimes what I see makes me sick and want to give up. I take a break. Still, I am curious. I seek out info, look for international sources and try to watch that news of the world doesnt overwhelm me and negatively effect my emotional state in my immediate "real" life. The Cellar has been great for me to hear a diverse range of takes. Its helped me clarify what I believe. Cynicism comes, but I try to stay tuned to what I can do-- Have an intelligent conversation about an issue I care about (or at least do my best!). Vote at all levels. Support charities that do work I'm proud of. Stay openminded and look for hope, through individuals. Pace yourself but keep your feet moving.

Does anyone here use shortwave radio for their news? You can hear the same world news from all different slants, and for real fun, you can listen to North Korea's news program.

I used to surf the radio waves, but I stopped paying attention to most news except my yahoo headlines.

I listen to BBC Radio4 and BBCWorld service more or less obsessively

I'm a news junkie, but I don't worry, giving up is easy, I do it every day ;)

Bwahahahaha. Right on, Yelof.:beer:

i'm not sure what my title would be. i went into the military at 17 so i paid attention to world news because at some point it does have a direct affect on my life. like "where am i going next?"

politically i lean more towards the right, although i refuse any affiliation to a party... anyway - i occasionally listen to hannity/fox/cnn/peter "al jazeera west" jennings, etc. but i never lose sight of the fact that there is no honest, unbiased source for info left. what passes for journalism today could really be labeled as entertainment. each source identifies which target audience they can profit from most by drawing into a close association. personally i have found that if you take talk show hosts/reporters and just bring everything they say down a couple of notches, you will be about as close to the truth as we can get now.

Sick of it, but can't turn my back on it either.

Reminds me of a song by Sixto Rodriguez from the album Cold Fact - "this is not a song it's an outburst"

The mayor hides the crime rate
council woman hesitates
Public gets irate but forget the vote date
Weatherman complaining, predicted sun, it's raining
Everyone's protesting, boyfriend keeps suggesting
you're not like all of the rest.

Garbage ain't collected, women ain't protected
Politicians using, people they've been abusing
The mafia's getting bigger, like pollution in the river
And you tell me that this is where it's at.

Woke up this moming with an ache in my head
Splashed on my clothes as I spilled out of bed
Opened the window to listen to the news
But all I heard was the Establishment's Blues.

Gun sales are soaring, housewives find life boring
Divorce the only answer, smoking causes cancer
This system's gonna fall soon, to an angry young tune
And that's a concrete cold fact.

The Pope digs population, freedom from taxation
Teeny Bops are up tight, drinking at a stoplight
Miniskirt is flirting I can't stop so I'm hurting
Spinster sells her hopeless chest.

Adultery plays the kitchen, bigot cops non-fiction
The little man gets shafted, sons and monies drafted
Living by a time piece, new war in the far east.
Can you pass the Rorschach test?

It's a hassle, it's an educated guess.
Well, frankly I couldn't care less.

that's a really cool song.