OPINION: Proposed New Year's resolution: Vet the news

There is too much information floating around out there and sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between real and fake.

As a new year dawns, perhaps a situational assessment is necessary.

Reaching out to friends and family during the last few weeks has delivered just about what I expected.

The information superhighway is really busy, kind of like Albuquerque’s 4 p.m. traffic northbound on Wyoming Boulevard.

The “information superhighway” is kind of like any paved road in New Mexico, there are ruts, potholes and wrong turns if one is not paying attention.

This “information superhighway” is seen by some as progress since the days Albuquerque was the home of Microsoft with a little office and a couple nerds trying to figure out a way to move information.

This “information superhighway” moves too fast.

Occasionally I long for the days of my high school typing class on the old Underwood. F-D- S-A space; J-K-L- space; carriage return. Typing practice on what I’ve now come to understand is the QWERTY keyboard.

The “information highway” changed with the IBM Selectric, Altair and Wang word processors. Contraptions that accommodated corrections to the written word — without Wite-Out or an eraser.

Then came Microsoft Word and the internet, and the rest is history.

Now, we talk to screens on little boxes we hold in our hand, asking Google, Siri, Alexa or Gemini for instant answers once researched by looking at the latest edition of the World Book.

Don’t ask what The World Book was!

This superhighway time we’re living in — information moving through glass wires, copper wires and into the air by microwaves, Bluetooth and satellites is overwhelming.

Information in bits and bytes, not in gallons of ink or tons of newsprint.

Folks tell me middle-age and younger Americans aren’t reading books, buying newspapers or magazines or watching local or national TV news. They’re getting their news — when they care — from electronic sources that may not have anchormen, reporters, staff writers or editors.

Tik-Tok, Facebook, Instagram, X, Truth Social, YouTube, Wikipedia. The list goes on and on. Some of that information is coming from influencers competing for followers in a constant battle to post information that will be liked and then forwarded. Some of those influencers are paid to propagate misinformation.

Fake news, for real!

A good number of the electronic watchers, listeners and swipers don’t pay attention, and don’t ask questions. They take what they see and move on.

That is not good.

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority," is a quote oftentimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

I don’t know if that quote is Franklin’s or if it’s fake.

Questioning authority (and authenticity) should be everyone’s responsibility, not just the folks who bring you the news.

And that’s the truth.

Or is it?

Just ask the fictional Lily Tomlin character Edith Ann from "Laugh In."

If you’ve never heard of "Laugh In," or Lily Tomlin, or Edith Ann, or Benjamin Franklin … ask Google.

Happy News Year!

Rodger Beimer is a former broadcast reporter who has statewide marketing experience for community and industrial projects.