ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Now to your comments. We've had a lot of response to yesterday's story about a ratings surge at the Fox News Network with a new political party in power, and that story sparked a vigorous debate on our comments page about the state of the news media.
Many of you wanted us to know just how strongly you dislike Fox News, while others expressed their appreciation for the network's coverage. But Craig Young(ph) in the U.K. offered this explanation for Fox's growing audience.
In his view, news is not news anymore. It's entertainment, he writes. But that's true not only for Fox; it's true for U.S. news in general, like NBC and CNN.
It's interesting to see news channels jockey for viewership with gimmicks like the latest three-dimensional graphics, interactive displays and loud, angry, fast-talking commentators.
We also brought you a commentary yesterday by fellow NPR host Peter Sagal, who wondered if it's time to move on from our escapist childhood interests, from "Lord of the Rings" to video games.
Well, Chris Ward(ph) of Vienna, Virginia, had this message for Peter. He writes: I confess that I, too, was an escapist science fiction geek in my formative years, Peter, like you. I felt uber-fantasist Philip Jose Farmer's recent death was a cruel blow, but your worries about the next generation of video game geeks are not justified.
My kids turned out to be nearly as wonderful as we are, despite not being exposed to the clearly superior pop culture of our youth. Your concerns are merely the first twinges of the onset of old-fogeydom, as your children undoubtedly already know.
Well, continue writing to us. Visit npr.org, and click on contact us at the top of the page. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.