I'm convinced daily that "news" on a global scale—now also permeating social media, pushing out cat and friendly bear videos—is indeed the opiate of the masses.

The addiction is pernicious.

It's a sort of subtile thing, I think. Being an "informed citizen," so called, is seen as a a sort of civic virtue. That's how all the people with their hearts in the right places get drawn in. They really aren't out there in pursuit of ideas for various forms of muckraking, but to do the right thing as best they can, with as much information as they can.

But news media exists to turn a profit, just as all businesses do. But, instead of enticing you to trade in your perfectly good car or truck for one with 100 upgrades they can specify and detail, the only news they can offer is more of the same—repackaged over and over and over and over. Their product is fear, alarm, and caution. More fundamentally, their product is: STOP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LISTEN TO US!!!

Also: don't touch that dial; we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors [the people paying us to keep you engaged].