TV News A Useless Appendage?...

[K'riq Sa]

I have been watching the daily newscast slowly evolve into something that is like 55% teasers, and 20% entertainment crap, focusing on the latest star nere-do-well, sometimes as much as five minutes or more of senseless bantering between newscasters on the subject, extending the fluffisity to new levels, while real news is at best glazed over and video-wise we get a series of stock shots, mostly featuring the cameraman shooting the story, looking into the eyepiece (what is that all about?). This is even on major News casts like ABC, NBC, CNN.

After watching a major news cast, that had maybe 5 news stories, and the rest the crap listed above, I went online to see if that was all there really was going on, I was shocked to see they had neglected to mention at least 10 new big News items, that I found fairly easily, the news that they did report on was days if not weeks old, and totally blanked on things I thought should easily have made the news. Why is this happening, and is it being done to shunt our poor innocent ears from a lot of the bad stuff happening in the world, or we just watched ourselves into fluff world by supporting these types of news programming, or has TV News Programming just hit the wall?

I went online, got all, if not most of the news from one website, a "complete" weather cast, including all the business, tech, and science news all in about 10 minutes. I don't even know why I bother to watch broadcast news anymore, but I still do, as if miraculously the format will reset and I will see a regular news cast full of News, but it never happens. I think it's conditioning, the kind you can't break out of...





K'riq

 

[ManOnTheWave]

I find tv news largely useless. You can get more info and sooner from npr. Or the internet.

 

[Canadave]

The only TV news I'll actually watch on occasion is CBC's The National.

 

[Small White Car]

Isn't it sad how TV "news" continues to get louder and more pointless, yet seems to find ratings and advertisers? Likewise, the less "real" news in a newspaper, the better off they seem to be.

Meanwhile, the newspapers that employed the actual reporters who went out and worked hard are the ones that are folding the fastest.

It appears we're only willing to pay for that which entertains us, not what educates us. We're very quickly getting the media we deserve.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I will post some quotes from the great Edward R. Murrow:

Our history will be what we make it. And if there are any historians about fifty or a hundred years from now, and there should be preserved the kinescopes for one week of all three networks, they will there find recorded in black and white, or color, evidence of decadence, escapism and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live.

During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: LOOK NOW, PAY LATER.
For surely we shall pay for using this most powerful instrument of communication to insulate the citizenry from the hard and demanding realities which must be faced if we are to survive.

Also, you can read his whole speech here:http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/commentary/hiddenagenda/murrow.html

 

[K'riq Sa]

I also see that most of the magazines on the stands have been reduced to a hefty pamphlet...






k'riq

 

[TGTheodore]

I think there should be a legal (or FCC) definition of "news".

In earlier years gone by, networks always had to put the word "COMMENTARY" up before they offered one. Other than that, it was almost completely objective news reporting with no facial expressions, rolling of eyes, heavy sighing or verbal retorts while reporting the news.

It was a very big deal if a main commentator showed a personal reaction to a news story, and sometime grounds for firing.

How "Fox News" gets away with that oxymoron is beyond me.

--Ted

 

[Gertch]

How "Fox News" gets away with that oxymoron is beyond me.

--Ted

Which program? The only time I see anything that is 'old news' style are the periodic news updates. Most everything else is opinion shows where they bring in guests from multiple viewpoints.

24 hour news channels need to keep people entertained. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and the others all have to keep people watching. If they need to call in clowns or car chases they will.

 

[Danoz]

I watch TV news during election cycles and emergencies. Otherwise, I can't handle all the fluff.

 

[K'riq Sa]

New World Order Begins...

http://rense.com/1.imagesH/police2_dees.jpg

Well it's official, the New World Order has a Police Department.







k'riq

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Eh, had to happen sooner or later.

 

[DanTheGrey]

The only time I'll watch the TV news is if I catch the top of the hour of the BBC World newscast. Local news is just so amateur hour and full of all the worst bits of what's going on in the rest of the world with just the most fluffy crap possible locally. I really don't find special interest stories that interesting 99% of the time. As for the national newscasts, I'm not in Southern Ontario so I zone out on the Toronto stories, I hate the obvious biases on the news channels here for politics at the provincial and federal level. And newscasts from the US are just irrelevant where I am while the 24 hour networks from the US just irritate me with all their extra tickers and the fact that half the time they think that shouting makes things more interesting.

I'd rather read the news online thanks and pick and choose what I want to read up on.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I prefer my news online now, although if there's nothing on then I don't mind looking at the TV news outlets for some, well, new(s).

 

[MANT!]

the current state of American TV news is similar to Radio "News" of the 1930s...
sensationalist trash to get ratings...

The news reporters of yesterday, keeping their opinions out of the report and simply reporting facts, are no-more...

so I find that foreign sources are often the best reporting out there...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/default.stm

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

http://www.spiegel.de/international/

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News.html

compare with CNN
http://www.cnn.com/

 

[Cutter John]

I haven't watched local news in ages, and the four days of 24/7 "Anna Nicole Smith is still dead!" coverage from a couple years ago pretty much destroyed cable news for me. So it could vanish tomorrow and I wouldn't miss it. I'll either check the net, or turn on one of the local News/Talk radio stations if I want to find out whats going on. And of course theres always Fark.com.

Though honestly, I don't think I've listened to the news in over a week. I'm tired of hearing about the damn economy.

 

[Kelso]

Obligatory JibJab link... WHAT WE CALL THE NEWS

 

[RJDiogenes]

How "Fox News" gets away with that oxymoron is beyond me.

Fox News may be propaganda, but CNN is just as unprofessional. As you say, reporters should be focused and objective; all these conversational asides and personal commentary-- even if it's something like expressions of sympathy for people who have been hurt-- is embarrassing. Broadcasting schools should be using guys like Walter Cronkite as their role model.

 

[K'riq Sa]

True, I find BBC the best American News to watch...

Funny that, those damn Brits and their Bangers on Mash....













k'riq

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I don't watch the news. Too depressing and annoying.

Especially sinced they fired Norm MacDonald.

 

[K'riq Sa]

I thought they replaced him with John Stewart?....








k'riq