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I’ve become impatient and intolerant

I wish I could send a letter to every TV anchor and reporter telling them that during interviews or panel discussions, when they or their guests interrupt or talk over each other or start arguing or getting disagreeable, I change the channel. I suspect I used up my life’s quota of tolerance at the office in my working days because I find I now have zero tolerance for rude adults. I’ll grant a very slight leeway when time lags and distance are an obvious problem, but the rest of the time if the adults start talking past and over each other, I’m outta there.

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SusanR

Susan Richards is a retired editor living in Thornton, Colo., near the family and mountains she loves. Her long-standing Pied Type blog contains some 3,800 posts dating back to 2002.

Categories Media, television, US10 Comments

10 thoughts on “I’ve become impatient and intolerant”

  1. Occasionally I’ll watch the US Sunday morning network political shows, we have a few cable political shows that kind of come close to the ‘talk over’ phenomenon, but only if there’s a major disagreement and only for a few seconds… or if there are three politicians vying for air time. But those segments are generally the shortest ones.

    Try this guy, he’s like Charlie Rose only with way more Canada:
    http://theagenda.tvo.org/past-episodes

    And, of course, this should be taught in hosting school:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE

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    1. I need to check the Internet more often for guys like Paikin, I guess, because I’m up to here with what poses as “news” on our cable networks. As for Stewart, yes he could indeed give lessons to the “real” news people. He’s done some great political interviews.

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    1. I just lost it tonight listening to Anderson Cooper get talked all over by some woman and failing completely to keep control of his interview or even manage to ask his questions. And this came after a day with three different robocalls/survey calls, including one from somebody thinking I owned a timeshare. I don’t know where the timeshare people got my name, address, phone number and email because I’ve NEVER owned one and don’t want to own one. I don’t know how to get all these robofreaks to stop calling me. If some politician wants my vote, I’ll sell it for an ironclad DO NOT CALL list that works!

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      1. Oh, owwwiie! Hope you’re better this morn! I missed that on AC, I’m always in and out catching pieces, then walk away.

        Well I was going to suggest putting your name on the national do not call list, but it sounds like you have already.

        Have a double espresso when you get up. 😉

      2. Workin’ on the coffee atm. I’m on both the national and state DNC lists. I can’t tell that they do a damn thing. And yes, I check them at least once a year to make sure I’m still on them.

  3. I seem to keep thinking about Andy Rooney. Does that mean I’m a curmudgeon too? Anyway, if Andy were here now he might say,

    “Did’ja ever notice, in any given conversation, how some people talk over the other and some other people quietly listen and wait for their turn? There are a lot fewer of the second kind around, but those are my kind of people. They usually have something smart to say. I avoid the first kind.”

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  4. I work with a woman who constantly talks over me, getting louder and louder, each crescendo reaching ever higher volume. I egg her on sometimes by saying, after she’s paused for a breath, “What were you saying?” and then she turns beet-red. One day she’s going to blow an artery. Once i said, “Are you going to continue talking AT me or do you want to have a conversation? It seems like you’re having an awfully good time listening to yourself speak, ” and she was silent the rest of the night. I would love to record her and play it back but I still don’t think she would get it.

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... and that's my two cents