Why don’t the major television stations give us the news coming out of Iraq. Today I turned on “The Early Show” and got a 5-second blurb about Al-Sadr pulling his cabinet ministers from the Maliki government. Sorry folks, but it would be nice if I could get a little back ground on why where when and how, or did those principles of good journalism fall by the wayside? I got a pretty nice collage of ideas of why Prince William might have broken up with his “middle class” girlfriend, they spend awhile on that one, but nothing of any substance about Al-Sadr’s decision.
C’mon guys, you can do it! If you’ve forgotten the name of the game, it’s called NEWS. That’s what most people want to hear when they turn on a NEWS station. The stuff you guys are reporting on used to be called “Filler and fluff”, that was to take up some time when their wasn’t hard NEWS. Somehow you people have gotten a bit confused. You are starting to believe that you are there to give us “filler and fluff”. I just wanted to write this to let you know that you have inadvertently gone in the wrong direction.
Maybe you think you are “entertaining” us. If you believe that what you do is “entertainment” then kindly take off the label “NEWS” from the format. I’m not just complaining for myself, I’m complaining for all of the people that watch your shows and believe that they are getting the NEWS. This could make them sound very idiotic at the next get together with friends or colleagues. While other people are talking about Iraq and things that are happening in the world, you’re viewers will be talking about Prince William and Kate Middleton. That would leave then looking very foolish, wouldn’t you agree? By the way, if they would look foolish, that would make you an accessory to foolishness?
I have to give you some credit. You did the weather very nicely, and you insinuated that Gonzales was going to testify today and save his job, but that really didn’t go into how he was going to testify and whether or not he would be under oath. You left those parts out. Frankly, I’m very disappointed in you. Either get it together or just drop the NEWS section of the show. You really don’t do the word justice. Then again, anyone looking for real news on television probably would never know if they were getting real news or not.
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Tim was banned from the site for posting private email from the publisher to him on his blog, and then attacking the publisher and the site in emails and articles. OEN has no responsibility to publish articles from people who attack the site.
Tim's accusations that he was banned for his political positions are untrue. Check his articles. He repetitively wrote about and had published exactly the things he claimed he was banned for doing.
Former Chairman of the Liberal Party of America, Tim is a retired Army Sergeant. He currently lives in South Carolina. A regular contributor to OpEdNews, he is the author of Kimchee Kronicles and is currently at work on a new novel.
I also hold them responsible for the fact that I know all the details about Anna Nicole Smith and even who that Sanjaya guy is... well, not just 'The Early Show', 'Today', or even 'The National News'. It's every g*ddamn televised 'news' source out there! CNN is particularly guilty -constantly sinking to new lows in their quest to sugar-coat and spoon feed the dumbed down American public their daily pap of diversionary headlines... Ten years ago, the press was swarming like flies on fresh shit every time somebody would dream up the latest Clinton allegation to fling to the crocs! Media consolidation has pulled the reins in on actual reporting. You can easily manipulate the masses by controlling the information they are provided! An easy way to illustrate the impact of that is to look at how many Americans are daily badgering their physicians to prescribe them any of the Big Pharma products they see countless ads for every hour without even a second thought that they've been 'taken in' by a lapse in critical thinking. Too many drink that Kool-Aid. Fewer and fewer are questioning authority and refusing to be told just exactly what's important and relevant...
Thank goodness for OpEd News and all the writers that contribute to it!
-Bid
by
C.Bid (0 articles, 7 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 732 comments)
on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 11:16:18 AM
If you were a key section of the US corporate oligarchy,
would you want the masses of ordinary people to be well-informed about the real goings-on in the world? Or would you prefer to keep them in a state of fantasy & deluded ignorance?
If you informed them that their government was taking their tax dollars to commit daily war crimes against innocent Iraqi civilians, so that other parts of the corporate oligarchy could immensely profit from the operation, they might get upset, & would become more unruly & difficult to manage.
The US media is doing its job perfectly. Unfortunately, its job is not delivering news. It's creating a mass mindset in which 99% of the population can be easily managed by the fraction of a percent at the top.
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Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1232 comments)
on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 11:21:16 AM
I'm glad someone brought up Anna Nicole Smith. The "where will she be buried" saga, followed by "who's the daddy" has dragged on for months. It is the stuff of tabloids yet, has been masquerading as news on every network and cable "news" program. I avoid tabloids rags like the plague. Ditto "Entertainment Tonight", "Extra", "Celebrity Justice", et al. Still, there was no avoiding the trials and tribulations of Smith. I long ago gave up the thought that the networks' morning shows would impart anything resembling hard news, so I don't watch them either.
I'm not certain that there is an explanation for why news programs have turned to so much "fluff and filler." Perhaps the government does exercise too much control over what is reported. Maybe networks rely so heavily on their target demographics that they feel fluff is necessary to reel in those viewers and their money. Corporate advertisers also figure into the equation. Most companies lean heavily toward Republican interests because republican lawmakers are so business friendly. It is likely a combination of these things. Whatever the reason, I rely on the Internet and PBS for news. TV is to be relied upon for entertainment purposes only.
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Lauria Hale (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 38 comments)
on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 1:37:12 PM
Do you mean the daily lies. I can't keep track. Too much Imus, Britney, Duke Lacrosse, Anna, Michael Jackson and etc. My mind is turning to mush with all of this important stuff.
Seriously, I think he will be under oath It's Democrats that are making the rules.
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Ron McCallie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 74 comments)
on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 2:50:34 PM
With the tragic headlines of today's campus massacre staring everyone in the eye, I noted that some reporters were asking some pretty tough questions during a press conference about the shooting and why the campus was not or could not be locked down... These kinds of 'tough' questions need to be asked in all facets of actual news reporting and not just when such a horrible tragedy occurs. The more digging that is done -the more relevancy is revealed! Any wonder why Helen Thomas is routinely skipped during Bush's 'press conferences'? Any doubts that today's horror is already being packaged for three months of exploitation in prime time? It IS news. Relevant news. (I mean no disrespect to the victims' families) But watch how it will be used... Ratings, anyone???
Could this administration be a little happy this happened? Less room for their latest scandals on the news sites? I DO honestly think that they have that little concern for the life and suffering of others... Yeah, I DO!
by
C.Bid (0 articles, 7 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 732 comments)
on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 4:53:35 PM
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