Again: This Is News?
Jun. 7th, 2009 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomThere are many, many things that could be said about our pathetic mainstream media, especially newspapers and wire services and why they seem to be ready to go the way of the passenger pigeon. Those media, especially newspapers and wire services, blame the internet for a lot of their woes: competition from blogging, the expectation of getting news for free, increased productions costs and God Damn The Unions, etc., etc., etc.
I really, really don't think it's occurred to them that newspapers and wire services might be dying because, well, they suck beyond suckage.
People want to please their bosses because they don't want to get laid off? Seriously? That's all you've got, on a Sunday? That wasn't news when there wasn't a worldwide economic crisis. That wasn't news when the Pyramids were being built, and you weren't laid off, you were horsewhipped before they buried you under Slab 17A. Now that people worldwide are hurting, the only thing this "news" does is increase the general nervousness level, and show that you're completely out of touch for thinking it's "news".
Some asshat who fancies himself an editor greenlit this. You can make the excuse that there are always fluff stories, intended to fill space, especially when a more important story misses deadline. But there is so much going on right now, so much for so many years, that you'd think something substantive might possibly be reported upon.
And I'm sure that dozens of newspapers ran this column over the weekend, and patted themselves on the back for keeping people "informed".
A lot of regulars here have been having job woes lately, and I feel for all of you, and wish you all a lot of luck. There is one aspect of this mess which might possibly work out -- sometimes, when you get pushed into the pool, you can turn it into a creditable 1-1/2 gainer. If you're not there already, what's your dream job, and how close are you to actually going for it? And, if you are there already, how's it working out?
I really, really don't think it's occurred to them that newspapers and wire services might be dying because, well, they suck beyond suckage.
People want to please their bosses because they don't want to get laid off? Seriously? That's all you've got, on a Sunday? That wasn't news when there wasn't a worldwide economic crisis. That wasn't news when the Pyramids were being built, and you weren't laid off, you were horsewhipped before they buried you under Slab 17A. Now that people worldwide are hurting, the only thing this "news" does is increase the general nervousness level, and show that you're completely out of touch for thinking it's "news".
Some asshat who fancies himself an editor greenlit this. You can make the excuse that there are always fluff stories, intended to fill space, especially when a more important story misses deadline. But there is so much going on right now, so much for so many years, that you'd think something substantive might possibly be reported upon.
And I'm sure that dozens of newspapers ran this column over the weekend, and patted themselves on the back for keeping people "informed".
A lot of regulars here have been having job woes lately, and I feel for all of you, and wish you all a lot of luck. There is one aspect of this mess which might possibly work out -- sometimes, when you get pushed into the pool, you can turn it into a creditable 1-1/2 gainer. If you're not there already, what's your dream job, and how close are you to actually going for it? And, if you are there already, how's it working out?
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Date: 2009-06-08 04:52 am (UTC)Ages ago, there may have been Perry White types that determined what news determined attention and made it important. Those days are long gone, and they left because news became a profit center for TV stations.
Over my time in TV, I saw features and documentaries and just plain entertainment programs that were produced locally dry up and blow away. The big step came when Saint Reagan insisted that TV stations didn't need to prove they were serving their communities, thus giving them the right to kill anything that didn't make a profit.
Now, how do you get your news to stand out from the other stations? Flashy graphics. Impressive news music. Handsome reporters. And the big shibboleth, "news you can use."
What news can individuals use? Well, if they were civic minded, city council meetings would be good, but they aren't spectacular. For news directors, "news you can use" turns out to be car crashes, robberies, rapes, crime scenes and arrested subjects spitting curses that have to be bleeped. Used to be they'd end the news with a cute story of a lost kitten or a funny incident, something to end the news with a smile. Never any more.
Republicans gained power by fear. So do TV evangelists. So do talk radio hosts. But the most regular users of fear are your local TV newscasts. By constantly threatening the viewer with phenomena that can kill you, they've made Americans paranoid and fearful. This demand for terror has polluted, not simply our body politic, but our lives.
Since I was fired, I have not seen a TV newscast from anyone, although I still watch Olbelmann, Maddow and Stewart. I feel a lot better about life and my future.
I think that after Americans abandon newspapers and magazines, they'll abandon TV news as well.