The Sports and Political Media Game

Source of photo: https://eagleman6788.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/puppetmaster.gif

The media sell We the People a lot of things…

Sex.

Drama.

Intrigue.

Action.

Disgust.

Affirmation.

There was a time when making people think made for good television and theater, but that isn’t as mainstream as it once was.

All of the things media sells us are designed for one purpose…

To stir up base passions and emotions.

Take sports shows like ESPN’s First Take or FS1’s First Things First, the talking heads on those shows don’t know anything more about sports than you or I do, yet they state their opinions as if they are facts.

The talking heads merely stir up passion. If you love and root for the team or sports figure they are maligning at the moment, you scream at the TV and will tune in to the next game or match your team or favorite athlete is competing in and in so doing, boost the ratings for the leagues and the networks, which makes the partners tons of money.

If you hate the team being maligned, you just join in the hate-fest and do the same thing the supporting fan does, only hoping to see your negative view validated. Still boosting the coveted ratings and making money for the leagues and their network partners.

Meanwhile, we fans are merely puppets on a string.

The same dynamic is in play with political punditry on network television. In fact, I often can’t tell the difference between sports sensationalism and political sensationalism these days.

Regarding sports reporting, I simply see it for what it is, entertainment that I should not take too seriously.

Regarding political commentary, I have my own views and thoughts and whether I agree or disagree with what is being said, I try to remain objective and let the facts rule my opinions vs letting my emotions rule my opinions.

We all should consume media with our third eye. Your third eye is your mind and it should always be open.

-The Rational Ram