"It's not news, it's fark"

Drew Curtis is my new hero. He’s the CEO of Fark.com and author of It’s Not News, It’s Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap as News. What inspired the book and accompanying website? Listen:

“Initially, I noticed that a story about German condom sizes being too large would reappear occasionally. Then I noticed other stories that reappeared on a regular basis, like Seasonal Articles that come out every year (“There Will Be Traffic on the 4th of July,” “People Procrastinate When Filing Their Taxes,” and the inevitable combo article of “Where To Get Your Halloween Candy X-Rayed — By the Way, It’s a Hoax”). Then I noticed other patterns like Media Fearmongering, Out of Context Celebrity Comment, and so on. But the kicker was noticing that when actual news does occur, all these types of stories vanish completely. Until the event ends, and then media returns to its old ways.”

Most “news,” Curtis says, is negative, trivial, manufactured, and unactionable. So he’s on a low-information diet. He saves a lot of time by NOT reading a newspaper and by NOT watching TV news. And he’s a happier guy because of it. His attitude is first-rate.

But Curtis doesn’t stay ignorant of the “important” stuff. He counts on friends to alert him to things that might affect him personally or affect his business. His advice:

“Take two weeks off. Don’t watch any news, don’t read any news, don’t listen to any radio talk shows. Then tune back in. Did you miss anything? Nope. It’s the same old crap, different days. That’s what I’m talking about in my book — the media patterns that are used to fill space. It’s 95% or more of the content of any given news show.”

Refuse to be afraid!

My friend Brian Richardson, whom I've known for -- oh my gawd! -- going on 40 years, has always had a special gift for cutting through the crapola, as my dear grandmother used to say. And his skill is laser-sharp in his latest, brilliant blog post, which is not to be missed. Here's a taste:

"Refuse to be afraid. It's hardest to keep your fears under control when so many forces are trying so hard to alarm you. No doubt they have fearful purposes of their own, but they feed on our fear. Refuse to be afraid. It's the first step on beyond the paralysis of fear, the first step toward freeing yourself and following your dreams."

Mainstream media's terminal state

Tim Russert always seemed like a really nice guy to me. The sorta fella I could sit down and drink a Guinness with. And I was very sorry to hear about his death last Friday, particularly since he was just a few years my senior. But I have to agree with my dear friend Butler Shaffer here:

“As I write these words, we are into the third day of a seemingly endless period of mourning for Tim Russert. While he seemed to be a likeable fellow — in a conventional sort of way — and I can sympathize with his family, friends, and colleagues over his loss, there is something telling about the state of journalism in this country in the way his death is being transformed into a national tragedy. Here in Hollywood, the demise of even the most prominent of the prominent stars does not merit the media’s nonstop observance such as we are witnessing not only from Mr. Russert’s network, but from others as well. …

“There may be a metaphorical message in the untimely death of television news’ most visible personage. Like those who gather to celebrate the life and death of a friend, perhaps the mainstream media is using the memory of Tim Russert to celebrate its own life, which seems now to be in a terminal state.”