20070813

Rant: Gnus

There's a reason I don't watch TV for news.

The cafeteria at work as some televisions showing the news, and every time I sit down to eat I become less impressed with the broadcast. Today really highlighted the problem.

There have been a number of interesting food and health product recalls lately, most involving China. On the news today, the anchorwoman boldly announces there has been yet another. Piquing my interesting, I listen to hear what has happened now that I should be aware of.

But first we'll cover some cross-dressing shoplifter, Britney Spears, and a guy who takes photos of teenage girls in thongs and latex while their parents watch!

The fundamental question: How is any of that crap or even Karl Rove's resignation more important than my health and well-being? Seriously, how can we call any news agency "responsible" if they blatantly refuse to inform me of something supposedly dangerous to my continued existence.

Imagine if you went into your doctor's office and during the examination there a brief moment of awkward silence signaling the obvious discovery of a ailment. The doctor speaks, "Well, that's possibly going to kill you." Afraid and curious you ask, "What is?" The doctor shakes his head, "First, lets measure your weight and height, and then we can talk about your children's Flintstones vitamins."

In the end it was just more toothpaste; a complete waste of time. I certainly didn't stick around for their latest spreading of fear, uncertainty, and doubt for any reason other than that I was still eating.

The news is supposed to relay information to us about what we should be paying attention to. We are supposed to be made aware of things we otherwise wouldn't be made aware of. We are supposed to be shown issues that are hard to keep track of. Instead, we get the kind of setup that out paces even an ADHD's short attention span. I didn't even get to read where a church shooting was before they'd moved on to the congestion at the LA international airport.

It's a bad day for journalism when people who can't even be bothered to type out "you" are more informative.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's why I ascribe to the "word of mouth" source for almost all of my news. Then if it's worth my time. I'll search for it on the interweb.

That's right. I look to you, and Anthony, for news. I'm sure Dave watches the news about as much as I do though.

But I totally agree. The "news channels" are closer to "sensory overload" than news. What with the 3 tickers, DJIA, Time, and split screen dual coverage. oh well, Whatever.

-Aikonar

jocelyn said...

::sighs:: I feel the same way. Why watch the news when it depresses you so much?

But I LOVE reading The New Yorker. They have interesting articles on relatively current stuff. Not as newsy. More essay-y.