Have you ever been turned off by a headline on a news website due to style, not substance? Has the morning news resembled a sensationalist tabloid rather than a daily update on the world’s events? Have you ever wondered what others thought about news in your country?
Many people have complained about the media since time immemorial. Media figures are constantly rated among the least trustworthy people (right behind lawyers and politicians) in poll after poll. Most people will have plenty to comment about the demise of standards in news outlets whenever asked. And every now and then people think we should do something about it, such as regulate what news is reported. Of course, then it becomes a slippery slope into the government regulating what can and cannot be reported on, and who can say what, thereby infringing on the first amendment.
Of course, it all comes down to the uncomfortable truth that the media reports on what it does in the manner it does because that’s what we like to watch. If it didn’t attract viewers, the media outlets would not report it. The fact is, if we want to change what the media reports on (or anything on TV for that matter), we should be changing our standards.
Or even if you believe you have high standards, and refute the everyday news outlets for more high-brow material, chances are you rely on a news outlet from one particular region, ideology or point of view. If you consider yourself worldy and levels above the lowest common denominator, wouldn’t it make sense to gather varying points of view?
Then again, this would mean choosing a variety of different news outlets, scattered among various regions, points of view and languages. That seems like a bit too much effort for your morning news.
But what if someone had already done this for you? What if there were a place where you could scour the headlines of the world’s news outlets in english from a variety of different sources? What if it were updated daily and available in one central website?
http://www.currentevents.dumbagent.com/ is that website.
