This Just In! The News is not News!
This really isn't just in. This is probably old news to those of you who pay attention and care about the news. However, I was driven over the edge listening to an interview with the CEO of CNN on the subject of their editorial choices and the "runaway bride" story. So I have to vent. There are reasons why many of us don't watch the news to find out what's going on in the world. There may be a shift in the demography of who watches tv even as the numbers for the old broadcast channels decline. And what you- yeah you in the 'news' business'- do drives that.
What do I mean? Well, it's not really news when you lead into the show with the announcement that you are headlining a 'behind the scenes' segment on the show your network just finished showing. That's not news- that's marketing. And it's not news when the anchor tells us the picture we are looking at is 'spectacular' or adds similar 'gosh almighty' adjectives. We're supposed to get to decide whether it is or it aint. It is also not news to spend the bulk of the show telling us about every car accident, meth bust, and similar petty crime. This is a metropolitan area with millions of people. A rash of break-ins in one neighborhood doesn't deserve three minutes of coverage and then a followup the next two days. Telling us that a meth addict was arrested and then released is a specific instance of what might be a news story- how many times does this happen each day in the County? That's more of a story. The latest report on Michael Jackson, Terry Schiavo, the runaway bride, a car chase anywhere, or the Peterson murder case takes time away from important things.
Oh, and take the tone of 'this is sooo incredible' out of your voices. We don't believe just because you sound that way.
Years ago, it was common to have a human interest story to close the show. You spend more time telling us about the trivial than about things that are really affecting our lives. "Oh, you say! But that's what people want to see! If we show too much discussion of the complex issue of Jewish Settlements in Gaza, people don't watch. We're just trying to serve our audience."
That's really the point. Being journalists and newspeople is about getting information to people that they need to know and doing it with integrity. That's not what you're doing. You've replaced 'getting information' with 'pandering'.
THAT'S the news! Goodnight!
What do I mean? Well, it's not really news when you lead into the show with the announcement that you are headlining a 'behind the scenes' segment on the show your network just finished showing. That's not news- that's marketing. And it's not news when the anchor tells us the picture we are looking at is 'spectacular' or adds similar 'gosh almighty' adjectives. We're supposed to get to decide whether it is or it aint. It is also not news to spend the bulk of the show telling us about every car accident, meth bust, and similar petty crime. This is a metropolitan area with millions of people. A rash of break-ins in one neighborhood doesn't deserve three minutes of coverage and then a followup the next two days. Telling us that a meth addict was arrested and then released is a specific instance of what might be a news story- how many times does this happen each day in the County? That's more of a story. The latest report on Michael Jackson, Terry Schiavo, the runaway bride, a car chase anywhere, or the Peterson murder case takes time away from important things.
Oh, and take the tone of 'this is sooo incredible' out of your voices. We don't believe just because you sound that way.
Years ago, it was common to have a human interest story to close the show. You spend more time telling us about the trivial than about things that are really affecting our lives. "Oh, you say! But that's what people want to see! If we show too much discussion of the complex issue of Jewish Settlements in Gaza, people don't watch. We're just trying to serve our audience."
That's really the point. Being journalists and newspeople is about getting information to people that they need to know and doing it with integrity. That's not what you're doing. You've replaced 'getting information' with 'pandering'.
THAT'S the news! Goodnight!
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