Joanne Weintraub still watches TV. But it’s a lot less TV than she watched for years, when she was the TV critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Weintraub, discusses her new views on TV in an essay that appears in this month's Milwaukee Magazine.
While she misses parts of her job, like receiving early copies of programs, there are other aspects she's happy to be without. Social media complicated the job, and Weinraub loathed watching programs such as The Real Housewives, wherever they resided. While there were some reality shows that were tolerable, she now views them as being a bit "toxic."
"Reality shows started with This Is Your Life, which is circa 1950, so it's nothing new. But I think I've been surprised by just how toxic some of the messages that they send have become," says Weintraub. She points to The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, as a couple of the primary culprits.
Weintraub admits that television still plays a starring role in her evening routine, but since leaving her job as a critic she's found more time for other activities as well. "I do read a lot more than I used to; I go to a lot more movies, I go to more theater, I get more exercise. I was watching TV 35 hours a week, and probably working another 30 hours a week... But what can I say? It's nice not having to watch The Real Housewives," she says.
