Amusing Ourselves to Death

In Chapter Seven of Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death, the author critiques television news, claiming that its flashy format has reduced reality to fluff for entertainment value. While there are some exceptions to Postman's perception of television news, in general the author is correct in claiming that television news is "news without context, without consequences, without value, and therefore without essential seriousness ... news as pure entertainment," (100). At first it may be temping to disagree with Neil Postman's harsh criticisms of television news, especially those that are based on his claim that most newscasters have to have faces fit for magazine covers. Any cursory glance at some reporters reveals that at least some are overweight and comparatively unattractive. However, most, if not all, television news anchors have what Postman calls "credible" faces; otherwise, they would be doing radio news. Postman's critique of what...
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