"Sermo interruptus" — please let me finish!

Is it just me, or does the general level of discourtesy in the media and elsewhere get to you?

I enjoy being an informed viewer/listener when it comes to news and talk shows, but lately I've had a lot of trouble with the increasing levels of rudeness shown by hosts and guests of these programs. While their proclaimed mission is to keep us informed, the reality is that the way this "information" is presented prevents ANYONE from hearing what's attempting to be said.

Now, when I mention talk show hosts that interrupt, many people will jump immediately to the interview by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly where he repeatedly interrupts President Barack Obama.  O'Reilly himself explains these interruptions. "The truth is that TV interviewers who want to get answers must--must--interrupt their guests," he said in an interview shortly thereafter.

But, while pesky, I would say that this particular interview of Mr. O'Reilly's was still "garden-variety interruption."  What really puts me over the top is the continual, constant, shout-fest where neither host (sometimes multiples) and guest (also sometimes multiple) cannot get a word in edge-wise.  Political debates used to be the preferred forum for this kind of "Interrupt-itis," and that arena is still alive-and-well for politicians who try to out-talk each other. But, sadly, the problem has leaked into every nook and cranny of our media world: Click on the clip below to get a taste of what I'm talking about:

 

This goes on every day, every night, on every TV and radio talk channel. It appears that the person who can out-shout, out-humiliate the other is the "winner."  Most of the time, I can't even understand what they are trying to say through their tirades. If getting their point across was the aim of this "news/information program" -- well, that mission failed entirely. When I experience this type of behavior, I just want to turn the TV/Radio OFF. It's like listening to a room full of 20 pre-schoolers, or, to bring to mind another visual, the horde of seagulls in Disney's Finding Nemo who are all clamoring "Mine, Mine, Mine!!!"  for a lonely crab. Sorry, folks; you are supposed to be adults who have some basic form of self-control.

 

In the spirit of helpfulness, I'd like to offer a few tips that might make this process go a little more smoothly and help those of us who are trying to pay attention to what you have to say...

If you disagree with something someone else is saying, take notes, come back to it, and debate -- not debase.
If you'd like to show us how intelligent you are, use language civily, don't abuse it.
And, don't make an idiot of yourself by calling your opponent an idiot or something similar.
Hosts, for you...remember these are "guests" you have invited to your show, not "victims" though you certainly often extend that invitation so you can pick them apart, not just pick their brains.

I will be extending a challenge to a well-known news network in the next few days suggesting that they take on the banner of being civil in their formats.  I don't know if they'll take it seriously, but in this day and age of "ratings" and being different, maybe that will be a good differentiator for them. After all, it's November and we're in ratings time.

Ultimately, I guess there's one final note I would offer. I can't take credit for it, but it's a well-known quote by Abraham Lincoln that I think sums up this post fairly well:

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."  When you shout and rant over the top of your fellow participants and don't let them finish, you have just made  yourself a fool, regardless of your mission, your celebrity, or your compensation. Thanks for letting me finish.