What’s in the news?

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News is suppose to be “facts” presented in a precise and understandable method by experienced journalist who have dug into hours of research and pointed questioning of people who are in the know of these subjects.

There is a study, perhaps two or three, out in the places where they study this stuff trying to sway the public thought process. The accumulate numbers and statistics of written and verbal surveys and arrange them in a manner to provide a conclusion.

Of course across the street and around the block another survey presents different numbers due to the different sorting of numbers based on a slant in the question requiring a different answer.

There seems to be a study on everything from “How much sugar in soft drinks is considered dangerous?” to “Will writing with lead pencils make you go blind?” or “Is sleeping in the dark better than sleeping during the day?” to “If a politician takes a mistress should a judge who is a polygamist be allowed to try the case?” or “If you write a book and no one reads it, does it have words?”

And someone pays for it. These studies are free. They require people with clip boards to knock on doors and ask questions, other people on computers to input the data and calculate the findings while others double check the figures and write reports. Offices with tables and chairs and lamps and miles of electronics plus lunch rooms and parking lots are necessary to keep this important research at our fingertips.

How else can we find out our trends we should buy in fashion or what movie to spend out money to watch or which new electronic gizmo we should purchase or… oh what, I see a trend here.

And whatever the institute or foundation or research group who funds these studies probably through government grants because the government needs to have this information to distribute our tax money, then again they might be from religious organizations who want you swayed to believe in this god and not that god or a political party presenting “some” of the facts to a narrow margin group of individuals who will swing the vote.

Whoever does this for whatever reasons, at the end of the day we call it news. Presented to us every night on the video screen by pleasant faces opinionating their “facts” with persuasive speech insinuations and body language.

We listen, observe, and digest the information. We talk to our “friends” on the subjects at hand to get their observations and opinions. If we agree with their statements we are validated, but if they do not agree with our internal belief, we must again ponder the meaning for our reactions.