Rav Avraham Genechovsky ztz"l encouraged people not to read the news - even from Charedi sources. He explained that one time a new manuscript of the chiddushim of Rebbi Akiva Eiger was discovered [R' Avraham was a world class expert in Toras Rebbe Akiva Eiger with no equal]. He was SURE that it would be FRONT PAGE news. But alas - not. So he said that if they can't appreciate what is really important then it is not worth reading.
I will add that a] The news is almost almost negative. "10-10 WINS NEWS - You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you a summary of the entire recent suffering of humanity". Who wants to bring themselves down like that?? [Answer oddly - most people]. B] Reading the news leads one to think about things in heretical ways. We believe that stuff happens b/c Hashem decreed it. The news outlets invariably have a different take. Example: War of Amalek. The news outlets [back then...] most certainly reported that it was b/c x,y, or z. The REAL REASON, as per Chazal was b/c the Jews grasp of Torah was weakened. One example of a million. C] Time isn't money. Time is LIFE. Who would want to give their most valuable possession - LIFE ITSELF - to most of the absolute nonsense reported on in the news. And don't fear - if anything REALLY important happens that you need to know about [like who won the Super Bowl, the latest stupidity uttered by a politician looking for some attention or other historical events] - you will find out.
There were and are Talmidei Chachomim who read the papers. It is not the worst sin. But I PROMISE YOU [b/c that is what I think - I don't have any special Divine pipeline] that after 120 you will be thankful whenever you didn't. I think I read about a person who stopped reading the papers and eventually made a SIYUM HASHAS of Gemara he learned in the time he used to devote to that pursuit.
What is CERTAINLY a רעה חולה [a disease gone "viral" in the most negative of connotations] is when people read multiple news sites, getting the same story from many different and many of the same angles. Some say that they read the news in order to know what to daven for. I can tell you w/o looking at the news - there are wars and killing all over the place. Loads of crime, sick people, no peace in the Middle East etc. etc.
If you do feel a need to read the news - limit it to a few minutes a day.
Wasting time is an elegant form of suicide. I don't recommend it to my patients....
אדם דואג על איבוד דמיו
ואינו דואג על איבוד ימיו
דמיו אינם עוזרים
וימיו אינם חוזרים
