Effects of Television

I have taken a short break from reading about Whitfield. I am reading Why Johnny Can't Preach - The Media Have Shaped the Messengers by T. David Gordon. Wow you really need to run out and buy this one to read.

Here is some quotes related to my post title.

"Only by televised news; own silly standards could someone spend ten to fifteen minutes on a matter of public interest and consider this to be "in-depth" coverage. Nothing of public importance can be covered in ten minutes; few important matters can even be adequately introduced in ten minutes. A culture that reads can consider what is significant because reading takes time to apprehend. But a culture that is accustomed to commercial interruptions every six or seven minutes loses its ability to discuss significant matters because it has lost the patience necessary to consider them."

"To illustrate this principle ... I decided a couple of years ago to attempt to begin to understand the Vietnam conflict and its effects on our nation. So I decided, as an introduction, to read about five books. ... So I read those five books and believe that I got a general, basic orientation on a matter in our history that few of us could understand very clearly while we were going through it. Anyone who reads normally assumes that you need to read a minimum of three to five books just to get a general introduction to a subject. But the time I spent in my little five book introduction to this matter would have translated to the longest television documentary Ken Burns has ever done! As a medium reading cultivates a patient lengthy attention span, whereas television as a medium is impatient. One is therefore suited to what is significant; the other merely to what is insignificant."

Pastor what was the name of that book you had? How to Read a Book? I think I need to read it to ensure that I am reading as I should!

Grace & Peace