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Showing posts from January, 2022

The Need for a Third Screen

Like many middle-aged Americans trying to hold on to their last vestiges of youth, I’m a regular at Planet Fitness. There’s people of all shapes and sizes there and no prevailing “style code” enforcement (though I have seen some very questionable workout attire). There are also big screen televisions, like, everywhere. Like a loud bar or kitschy chain restaurant, silent visuals prevail. No captions, just televisions silently broadcasting a continuum of mainstream entertainment consisting mainly of sports and news.  As a creature of habit, I always seem to end up at the same elliptical machine. This station is perfectly positioned in the middle between MSNBC (to the left) and Fox News (to the right). Yes, I’m serious. From my captive vantage point, for 30-40 minutes at a clip, I get to observe the polar opposites of “news” delivery. With the sound off, the viewer has only the visuals to guide them, but it’s still not hard to follow.   With the exaggerated facial expressions and eye roll