Not a recipe for ignorance but good advice. Nassim Nicholas Taleb gave almost identical advice years ago:
"Don’t read newspapers for the news (just for the gossip and, of course, profiles of authors). The best filter to know if the news matters is if you hear it in cafes, restaurants... or (again) parties." and
"If something is going on, I hear about it. I like to talk to people, I socialise. Television is a waste of time. Human contact is what matters."
Taleb is right: if it's important you'll hear about it from a friend or acquaintance.
Take that thought and think it all the way through. Where will your friend hear it? Iwhat you're suggesting is that we get our news in the form of Chinese whispers. A handful of first hand accounts that become second third and fourth hand accounts. All the people spreading the news don't have the full details, time and resources to follow up. When you go to those parties and socialize it turns into a bunch of uninformed fools basically spreading rumors based on hearsay and conjecture because there wasn't a trusted source (like a journalist) who could get all the facts straight and filter some of the bullshit before it led people to missing the point.
Even if we assume that people spreading news on their own can all be trusted and reliable that still severely limits the news you can get. People who want to spread a certain message will make sure you hear about it but the real news is often something people will actively try to keep from becoming public. Without journalists working for media outlets we won't get that kind of news. Stories of corruption and scandal are easily hidden in the scenario you describe and the world ends up talking about stories that would show up in People magazine because the average person doesn't care about what's up in Lybia, they care about what's happening with the Real Housewives of Bullshit City USA.
I love Taleb, I've been following his advice for a few years now and have found that absolutely nothing in my life has changed except having a lot more free time and a lot less stress.
but your friend or acquaintance will have heard it from "the news", so it will be the same as watching it yourself as far as being informative, and without looking into the issue yourself, you'll be unable to offer counter-arguments to your friends who are parroting the mainstream news.
"Don’t read newspapers for the news (just for the gossip and, of course, profiles of authors). The best filter to know if the news matters is if you hear it in cafes, restaurants... or (again) parties." and
"If something is going on, I hear about it. I like to talk to people, I socialise. Television is a waste of time. Human contact is what matters."
Taleb is right: if it's important you'll hear about it from a friend or acquaintance.