Do television news channels give you the latest news? You might be surprised ...
Most Americans sit down to watch the morning or evening news, just so that they gain a sense of what's happening in the world. Watching the news is such a habitual activity, you might walk away feeling you've got the latest news and a bit curious that not much seems to be happening in the world today. If you think that watching the news is keeping you up to date on the latest news and world events, you may want to review how news programs have gradually changed over the last few years.
The major news network stations have gradually developed a new, abbreviated format, which allows you to hear a brief snippet of the latest news perhaps once an hour. The rest of the two hour broadcast is taken up with more weather reports than anyone needs in a single day, talk show style chatting, celebrity gossip, cooking segments, craft demos, trivia quizzes with people chosen from the outdoor audiences and mini-fashion shows.
One such recent news program, claiming the moniker 'world news', informed me that a cat in the U.K. had been stuck in a tree, but ultimately did not require rescuing - he eventually found his way safely down the tree. There were two other equally unimportant stories, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what they were. Then it was back to yet another weather report and more chat.
There's something wrong with this type of reportage. You hear not a word of what's happening in Iraq or Afghanistan. What about diplomatic efforts between the Israeli and Palestinian factions? Gaza?
Back in the days when journalists were still true journalists, you were able to get the latest news in comprehensive coverage, from a more or less objective perspective. The slant, skewing a story with a personal agenda and clever rhetoric was not permitted. Dan Rather was one of the most admired journalists in the country. Look what happened to him when he started digging facts.
If you want to know some of what's really happening in the world, some of the cable and satellite TV channels, such as CNN, do - somewhat - cover the bases. The topics they pick become the story of the day, with 24 hour coverage in which they beat the subject into the ground, until you've finally had enough. Even so, certain news stories, of substantial import, are ignored. Where they fail is in the spate of speculation which accompanies the day's news items.
The net can be a good source of the latest news, but in order to be truly informed, you've got to chase down news stories from a variety of sources and perspectives. You almost need to become your own journalist.
Maybe if we all wrote an email, protesting the lack of substantive news, to the major news channels, they'd give us some of the latest news we want to know. The way things look, we might have to prompt them with a few ideas. Instead of handing out CDs to people who successfully answer trivia questions, perhaps they should offer prizes for the best news story suggestions!
4:54 AM