I don’t watch three or four TVs at once any more. But I do graze, and what I have seen develop over the years with network TV news is amazing. Amazingly bad.
CBS has a total of about five reporters I think. The other guys have issues too – but I don’t think anybody even cares any more.
Weather is used as more of a crutch at the nets than it is at the local level – and boy, that’s saying something.
These days, the complete 90′s-era tabloidization of the news is now mashed-up with a click-and-tweet-count-metric-driven ethic of content development – and- when taken as a whole, prove the end of the world is nigh.
Here, as an example, is the rundown from ABC’s World News Tonight this past Sunday.
Fourteen stories ran.
Let’s see what percentage of the stories focus on: entertainment, the lifestyles of the rich and famous, celebrity, or scandal that only affects the people involved – preferably which also involves celebrity:
- Show open – my anticipation is palpable.
- Circus accident – home video driven – like Youtube! Dead: 0 Broader implications: 0
- Air show crash – home video driven – like Youtube! Dead 1 Broader implications: 0
- Las Vegas post-fight stampede – home video driven – like Youtube! Dead: 0 Broader implications: 0
- LA Clippers scandal – including Barbara Walters gabbing with the girlfriend: Billionaires have problems too. Broader implications: 0
- Ukraine crisis – Broader implications are many, and important.
- Pistorius – Dead 1: Broader implications 0
- Weather – It’s weather. It leads 50 out of 52 weeks, so at least this placement provided a break from that.
- Royals appear at a Memphis wedding – Broader implications: >0 There’s a reason we revolted in the 1700’s.
- The White House press corps dinner – Barak is funny and all the cool people were there. Broader implications: 0
- Ben Aflleck banned for counting cards – Millionaires have problems too. Broader implications: 0
- An old guy finally gets his HS diploma – Nice human interest story, fine.
- Star Wars “May the Fourth” celebration with heavy cross promotion for movie trailers, GMA and Disney Corp. – Just and embarrassing whore job.
- A tribute to 16 Candles – Even more embarrassing.
- How the Kentucky Derby “could be a movie” script.
- Good night and tease GMA and WNT Monday. At last.
