As a Productivity Ninja, I am often asked what I recommend as the single biggest change we can make in our lives to boost Productivity. The answer is simple: Blow up your TV.
This third post on the subject of TV looks at TV News.
It’s on all the time. All day. So it must be important. We need to watch this. We need to be informed. TV news is the best way to achieve this.
I don’t think so. News is not news. Or not any more.
This became clear to me the last time I watched TV News, by mistake, about a month ago. The lead item was about a plane crash in Tibet, in which some your British backpackers had been killed. There was some news reporting, then we cut to the living room of the bereaved parents, who sat tearfully on the sofa in the glare of the lights, in front of a photo of their late son. “He died doing what he loved,” observed the distraught mother.
This went on for a bit.
The next item was about an increase in the incidence of Whooping Cough in the UK. There was some news reporting, then we cut to the living room of the bereaved parents, who sat tearfully on the sofa in the glare of the lights, in front of a photo of their late son. “He died doing what he loved,” observed the distraught mother.
Then it struck me. News isn’t news; it’s human interest stories in a news-flavoured wrapper. It is not designed to inform at an intellectual level; it is designed to engage at an emotional level.
There are better ways of finding out what’s going on in the world.
Blow up your TV.