I've also been reading about zen and meditation lately, and it's amazing the parallels between the ethic behind quitting the news and the zen mindset.
I am not a Zen master (or even a Zen beginner), so this is all based on my very limited understanding of the philosophy. However, it seems that living in the moment, being mindful of everything that's happening, and realizing that right now is the only moment that matters are all tenets of Zen (so far as Zen has tenets); while news goes against all of those. It takes your mind away from the present and from what matters. It is, to me, the very definition of mindlessness.
Zen is about exploring the limits of your own mind and how you relate to the world, what your place is. News is about bombarding you with messages and information from outside yourself, chosen by people other than you, and delivering a viewpoint to you. News tells you what your place is, even if you don't agree.
I guess I did have a few more newsy posts in me. I think I will shift to talking about news substitutes in the future, though.
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