Satellite radio is everywhere

Driving down the Ventura Highway with the wind blowing through my hair and the radio blasting. It was just like the old days … the only difference was the sounds coming from my radio.

Instead of a rock band playing at high volume, I was listening to the latest headlines from a 24-hour cable news station broadcast on satellite radio. It seems that as much as I try to get away from the 24-hour news cycle, I can’t escape. Although I know that I am not alone. Cable media is not only present in the minds of its viewers, but also in the minds of millions of people each week who listen to satellite radio in their cars and mobile devices. Makes it so easy to take my habit of being a news junkie to a new level.

Everywhere I go, it seems like someone is listening to satellite radio. Even in stores.

Now that people have the ability to activate their favorite stations on a cell phone, all that is needed is an audio jack to connect a device to a full sound system. Soon that person will pass out to the sounds of MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News. Although the sounds that come from most of these outlets can hardly be called “faint.”

Is it good that we have access to the 24-hour cable news cycle practically everywhere we go today? In horrible situations or rush news days, yes it is … But let’s be honest … There are more times when nothing happens compared to times that do require my direct attention. Why am I broadcasting cable news on satellite radio all the time?

My family often wonders the same thing. Now when we get in the car for a family road trip, it’s not “Let’s listen to music” anymore, let’s hear the same 5 stories over and over again in a new station. When we get tired of the posture of the stations in those five stories, we can switch to another station to hear the modified version of the same events in another. It is a vicious cycle that seems to never end.

I miss the days when I would sit and use the radio as an escape from the world. Now it seems like satellite radio is bringing everything I’m trying to escape, right to me.

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