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With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
Remember that old adage "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public?" (My apologies to our U.S. friends - it was supposedly writer H.L. Mencken who said it.) Maybe the same can be said of some of our average Canadians.
I was frankly stunned Thursday morning when I saw on the news and heard on the radio transit users who had no idea there was a railway strike and that some of the trains that use CN tracks weren't running.
Where have these people been and how in the world is this possible? The looming rail strike/lockout (now ongoing) was on every TV newscast, every radio station, every newspaper, every web site and all over social media. Yet I saw on CTV and Global's noon shows people who arrived at their affected train stations telling the reporters, "No, I had no idea. I showed up here and saw no cars in the parking lot and didn't know why."
In a day when everyone - especially younger people - are constantly connected via smart phones, how in God's name could these dunderheads not have some inkling about what's been brewing for weeks? I simply cannot fathom how they had no idea of the strike. Not a family member, a friend or co-worker said anything?
You'll probably see these folks on the 6 PM news tonight. I wonder how they ever got jobs in the first place if they're so woefully uninformed. I simply can't believe they still exist in these over-wired media days. But they do. And like Supertramp, they'll now be taking "The Long Way Home."
Oh and by the way, school starts on September 3rd. In case they missed that, too. Sheesh!
- ED1
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
Some people are too busy in their own lives to pay attention to the news. I dunno if they should get flack for that but maybe they have bigger problems on their plate.
- RadioAaron
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
I think "all the media available" is actually the problem.
We're bombarded with so many notifications that news is fighting for space unless you make a specific effort to consume it. It's no longer omnipresent in a mainstream way.
Last edited by RadioAaron (August 22, 2024 3:00 pm)
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
Perhaps I'm being too harsh, since I'm a news junkie and not everybody is. But you'd think this would get to them somehow before it happens. Kind of important.
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Thread Starter- fyshtalk
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
No different than people who drive along, streaming music, who don't catch a traffic report ...and drive straight into an accident scene and a major backup. Have to admit it has happened to me on occasion. Always grab a quick hit from 680 News BEFORE I get on the highway.
- newsguy1
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
Paying attention to news is no longer a ritual built into daily life.
It used to be that you tuned into the CBC national every evening.
Or listen to CBC radio every morning.
People of all ages did this.
If you were an American it was Walter, or Huntley Brinkley.
And of course pretty well every household subscribed to at least two newspapers a day.
There were boxes on every corner.
Now university students start their day watching the latest prank video on Tik Tok.
- Dial Twister
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newsguy1 wrote:
Paying attention to news is no longer a ritual built into daily life.
It used to be that you tuned into the CBC national every evening.
Or listen to CBC radio every morning.
People of all ages did this.
If you were an American it was Walter, or Huntley Brinkley.
And of course pretty well every household subscribed to at least two newspapers a day.
There were boxes on every corner.
Now university students start their day watching the latest prank video on Tik Tok.
Thus the state of the World.
- Hansa
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
I'm sure a lot of people who didn't realize there was a rail strike knew minutes after it was announced that Ben Affleck and J. Lo are divorcing.
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
I wonder if the same people who found out about the lockout early in the morning will hear they'll soon be back on the job pending binding arbitration. It's possible some of them will go way out of their way to find another much longer route to work, when they may not have to. If they didn't know it was on, will they also not know if it's off?
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Thread Starter- Ale Ont
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
The younger generation doesn't care about what is happening down the street, across the country, or around the world.
But using their phones they do know what colour socks their best friend is wearing and what they are having for supper.
- MJ Vancouver
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I’m a Millennial in my 30s but I’m a news junkie and probably know more than average about what’s going on in the news. I watch TV news every night, read news online daily, and even listen to radio news while driving.
But among my generation, and Gen Z, consumption of news, particularly local news is very low. Part of that is due to cord cutting, and not being aware of digital over the air broadcasts for local news. But part of that is also lack of high reliance on social media, and perhaps from at least some people my age I know, greater interest in world events than Canada or local news. I remember when I lived in Toronto, I knew people who read the BBC website daily and could tell me about the latest news about Russia or Sudan or US politics, but had no idea what was happening in Toronto. I can imagine those same people had no idea about the rail strike, but are following the Democratic National Convention or the MPox outbreak in Africa. Earlier generations didn’t have wide access to news from around the world the way we do in the Internet age.
I also know two people who have completely eliminated news from their lives, citing mental health as a reason.
Last edited by MJ Vancouver (August 22, 2024 6:50 pm)
- RadioAaron
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
It's not just younger people.
I'm pushing 50 (which is younger around here) and while I do consume what's probably an above average amount of news, I do so when it makes sense for me.
The first thing I see in the morning is the notifications on my phone. And yes, I do get many from news apps from local to international, but it's extremely rare that any of them actually affect my day in any way. So they're not a priority.
I think it's an over-simplification to say young people just don't care; Gen Z, or at least a large portion of them, are once of the most engaged generations with the world around them in quite some time. It's just the way information is presented and consumed is in transition, and some important information can slip through the cracks.
- MJ Vancouver
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As a part 2 of my comment, I also remember during the early days of Covid-19 in 2020, I knew people who were completely unaware of the outbreak - not in January, but as late as the second week of March. They simply didn’t follow news and didn’t know anyone working in healthcare, and therefore didn’t know about it until workplaces started talking about working from home.
- cash
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
There are people who couldn't name the current Prime Minister.
- Forward Power
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
I’m a Millennial in my 30s but I’m a news junkie and probably know more than average about what’s going on in the news. I watch TV news every night, read news online daily, and even listen to radio news while driving.
But among my generation, and Gen Z, consumption of news, particularly local news is very low. Part of that is due to cord cutting, and not being aware of digital over the air broadcasts for local news. But part of that is also lack of high reliance on social media, and perhaps from at least some people my age I know, greater interest in world events than Canada or local news. I remember when I lived in Toronto, I knew people who read the BBC website daily and could tell me about the latest news about Russia or Sudan or US politics, but had no idea what was happening in Toronto. I can imagine those same people had no idea about the rail strike, but are following the Democratic National Convention or the MPox outbreak in Africa. Earlier generations didn’t have wide access to news from around the world the way we do in the Internet age.
I also know two people who have completely eliminated news from their lives, citing mental health as a reason.
Also a millennial here, among the oldest age in this generation, and during the pandemic I pretty much cut myself off from news from any source or any level (local, regional, provincial, national, international), even going so far as to disconnect from social media as well... I had grown tired of all-covid-all-the-time, as well as the general bedlam south of the border at the time. I'm back on some socials these days, and a lot of my news comes from links posted on Reddit in subreddits such as r/news, r/ontario and r/ottawa; I'll also check the local radio stations' websites daily for their newest stories.
- Glen Warren
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I'm sure a lot of people who didn't realize there was a rail strike knew minutes after it was announced that Ben Affleck and J. Lo are divorcing.
WHAT ??? When did this happen? I can't believe I missed this...
- RadioAaron
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
I’m a Millennial in my 30s but I’m a news junkie and probably know more than average about what’s going on in the news. I watch TV news every night, read news online daily, and even listen to radio news while driving.
But among my generation, and Gen Z, consumption of news, particularly local news is very low. Part of that is due to cord cutting, and not being aware of digital over the air broadcasts for local news. But part of that is also lack of high reliance on social media, and perhaps from at least some people my age I know, greater interest in world events than Canada or local news. I remember when I lived in Toronto, I knew people who read the BBC website daily and could tell me about the latest news about Russia or Sudan or US politics, but had no idea what was happening in Toronto. I can imagine those same people had no idea about the rail strike, but are following the Democratic National Convention or the MPox outbreak in Africa. Earlier generations didn’t have wide access to news from around the world the way we do in the Internet age.
I also know two people who have completely eliminated news from their lives, citing mental health as a reason.Also a millennial here, among the oldest age in this generation, and during the pandemic I pretty much cut myself off from news from any source or any level (local, regional, provincial, national, international), even going so far as to disconnect from social media as well... I had grown tired of all-covid-all-the-time, as well as the general bedlam south of the border at the time. I'm back on some socials these days, and a lot of my news comes from links posted on Reddit in subreddits such as r/news, r/ontario and r/ottawa; I'll also check the local radio stations' websites daily for their newest stories.
Reddit is my first go-to for local news.
- turkeytop
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Our home isn't far from the CN Rail yards in London. Today, on the radio, the railroad band was silent.
After all is said and done, more is usually said than done.
- mic'em
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I listened to a word teaser game on 105.3 FM in Sudbury the other day on the Jamie and Cory Show. The premise is the hosts take turns with a caller, giving clues that the caller has to then identify the word. The clue was , what office does Justin Trudeau hold in the Canadian government. The caller said president . 
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I listened to a word teaser game on 105.3 FM in Sudbury the other day on the Jamie and Cory Show. The premise is the hosts take turns with a caller, giving clues that the caller has to then identify the word. The clue was , what office does Justin Trudeau hold in the Canadian government. The caller said president .
I don't know whether to laugh or cry...
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Thread Starter- fyshtalk
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
It could be worse!!
- RadioActive
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And these are the people we're leaving the world to? Well, that settles it. I'm not going!
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Thread Starter- Forward Power
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It could be worse!!
Oh dear lord... I cannot unsee that.
- newsguy1
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Re: With All The Media Available, How Is This Still Possible?
When I was a teenager in Vancouver I had a visit from a couple of cousins from California.
After a day or so of me showing them around, my girl cousin said to me, "You know I'm really surprised how well you speak English."
After a couple of startled questions she told me growing up in Anaheim they were all taught in school about "French Canadians."
I patiently explained to her that most French speaking Canadians are in Quebec.
My causins were not dumb. They were children of a prominent physician and had a full education for their ages.
Last edited by newsguy1 (August 23, 2024 11:12 am)
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Did they know where Quebec was?
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Mon Dieu!
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Thread Starter- Forward Power
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Tabarnak!
- MJ Vancouver
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This exact topic actually came up at work today. I have a colleague close to my age, and she was talking about how she does not pay any attention to news. She was talking about how she found out yesterday that there’s a US election this year and that Biden was not running, and also about the mPox outbreak. Thought of this thread right away.
- fyshtalk
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Friend of mine worked here in Canada for a large U.S. based pharmaceutical company. A member of the American sales force was here in Canada...asked my buddy what he was doing for the weekend. My friend said "It's Thanksgiving weekend". The American had a puzzled look on his face so my friend had to explain we celebrate Thanksgiving earlier here in Canada.His response......"so it's not the REAL Thanksgiving ! We laugh about this every year...how our's isn't the REAL one . Only Americans can celebrate that !!
Last edited by fyshtalk (August 24, 2024 10:01 am)