Working at my computer, listening to the TV, and contemplating.
"Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason" was the program, the guest Margaret Atwood, and they were calmly and incisively discussing the topic. There were pauses to allow thoughts to sink in a bit, and, although scripted in a general fashion, the exchange was conversational in nature.
As an experiment in contrast I clicked over to Fox News, found "Hannity and Colmes" running, and let it provide background for the second half hour.
I wasn't really listening to either program, but, once in a while, something was said on the former that picked up my ears, and I'd pay attention for a couple of back and forths. On the other hand, I have no cogent idea what was going on on the latter program - one time I looked up somebody in a band was playing a Strat, another time a montage of images from the Israel-Lebanon conflict, and punctuated with omnipresent Fox swooshes and other A/V FX.
In general, PBS programs do a better job in providing both context and the particulars, while cable news channels, and Fox in particular, excel at AMPS (Angry Morons Pontificating Spontaneously). I believe this is partially a consequence of pacing. If cable news and opinion programs were to be scored into musical notation there would be no rests on the staff - just a rat-tat-tat of notes. Extending the analogy, PBS-style programs have considerable dynamic range from soft to loud, while the latter tend to be heavily compressed, and with the volume and tone knobs cranked up to '11'.
YouTube has the video - here is the link to part one of three.
"Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason" was the program, the guest Margaret Atwood, and they were calmly and incisively discussing the topic. There were pauses to allow thoughts to sink in a bit, and, although scripted in a general fashion, the exchange was conversational in nature.
As an experiment in contrast I clicked over to Fox News, found "Hannity and Colmes" running, and let it provide background for the second half hour.
I wasn't really listening to either program, but, once in a while, something was said on the former that picked up my ears, and I'd pay attention for a couple of back and forths. On the other hand, I have no cogent idea what was going on on the latter program - one time I looked up somebody in a band was playing a Strat, another time a montage of images from the Israel-Lebanon conflict, and punctuated with omnipresent Fox swooshes and other A/V FX.
In general, PBS programs do a better job in providing both context and the particulars, while cable news channels, and Fox in particular, excel at AMPS (Angry Morons Pontificating Spontaneously). I believe this is partially a consequence of pacing. If cable news and opinion programs were to be scored into musical notation there would be no rests on the staff - just a rat-tat-tat of notes. Extending the analogy, PBS-style programs have considerable dynamic range from soft to loud, while the latter tend to be heavily compressed, and with the volume and tone knobs cranked up to '11'.
YouTube has the video - here is the link to part one of three.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
sune:
awww! Thanks for the lovely comment about my set !! 
twwly:
Can't imagine living anywhere else, mate.