Just some thoughts and ideas going around in my head while trying to figure out where I am and where everyone else is going.

Friday, January 22, 2010

First Rant of the Year

"All the News That's Fit to Print" is the slogan or motto for the New York Times and I sometimes wish that the local television stations felt the same way about there news programs. If they would only show just the stories that were worth watching, informing or uplifting the public they would be so much better than they are now.

I dislike local television news because it is so full of sensationalism. Not that the national network news is any better, but local news no matter where you go will put on the most outrageous stories just to get ratings...and that annoys me.

I think that Philadelphia TV market is the 4th or 5th largest television market in the the US. It covers not only the city of Philadelphia and the rest of South Eastern Pennsylvania, but all of New Jersey south of Trenton and pretty much all of the State of Delaware. I don't know how many people that would be, but suffice to say that's a pretty big audience with Channel 6's news getting the largest share ratings.

It's believed that Channel 6's Action News garners it's audience because they show more stories about violence and abuse, house burnings and diseases threatening to wipe out mankind than does the competition. And if perchance there should a story that involves a race issue where someone is being hurt or threatened, then they will go all out and enlarge the story and do an in-depth investigation and or analysis of the situation until they can't squeeze anything else out of what will be seen after a few weeks to have been a story about nothing. But like I said before, local news appears to be the same where ever you go.

I saw the story below coming out of Atlanta where some guy wants to start up a "Whites Only" basket ball league of US born citizens only and I wondered what was all the fuss about? Doesn't someone at the news station know that as soon as the man puts his sign up on the street and before the paint has been given a chance to dry, his business would be sued and shut down by the community and the courts for discrimination. Can no one figure out that this man would be filing for bankruptcy before he even took in his first dollar? Does no one there know that that this man's actions would be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution?

The story is a non-issue and yet they felt it was important enough for them to air it and feed it the other local stations so that they could fill their time with nonsense.

Oh, how I hate local TV news.

9 comments:

  1. I would like to think that the money the networks make with this sensationalism helps finance the coverage of major events people do need to hear about.

    But no, I don't think so.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey! You know I was thinking the same thing about during half time of the NFC championship. The stupid local news came on and rambled about the rain!!! The rain dagnabbit! I'm in Columbus, OH - not L.A. It's sprinkling, this is NOT news, get off my t.v. twit wads. Sorry, had to rant, but I feel you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They say Ignorance is bliss...

    "his business would be sued and shut down"

    My thoughts exactly!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't stand the news either for the dumb storys and gossip that they perpetuate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Local News Broadcast is the worst in most major cities, as you stated they tend to be full of sensationalism. I agree they do whatever they can to capture attention and ratings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Eduardo - I'm sure that any money that the local news makes goes right into someones pocket so they can live and avoid the people that they report about when they aren't on camera.
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    KST - Hmmm, not sure about the significance of rain in Cleveland unless it's supposed to justify a slow news night and if that's the case then I hear you. It would be best just to close up early and say there was no news worth reporting so everyone could go about their business.
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    Toy - I wonder who was it that first said the Ignorance is Bliss thing. Do you think it was the guy who was getting his head kicked in because he didn't know better, or was it the guy who was doing the kicking?
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    D - I think most local news stories are just filler. They are just used to fill in time and sell advertising. I would say that you would be better off watching cable but CNN, FOX News and MSNBC are just as bad. They just excite enough so that you can get to the next commercial about stuff that is equally inane.
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    Chet - They are nothing but money machines that I am starting to get really tired of.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You just got a Kreativ Blogger Award:

    http://pearlsofbs.blogspot.com/2010/01/kreativ-blogger-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Eduardo - Thanks for the recommendation and award. However, after receiving one award last year or maybe the year before I have made it a point of never having to accept an award or select others to receive one again. It's not that I don't appreciate the thought, but it's not the reason that I do whatever it is that I do.

    Again, many thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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