Hartford Courant discovery: There's no "News" on cable news shows!

[Atman]

Amazing...another crack in the wall?

---

Fluff In The Morning
Serious News Is Lost Amid Networks' Self-Promotion And Chase After Missing Persons, Animal Stories Or Celebrities

May 3, 2005
By ROGER CATLIN, Courant TV Critic

That poor, scared woman from Georgia is back home.

Soon, all 14 of the bridesmaids will have been interviewed ("Today" got to one of them Monday). The sudden celebrity of the ruggedly handsome local district attorney will fade after he decides whether criminal charges will be filed over her false kidnapping report. And ultimately the name Jennifer Wilbanks will be all but forgotten, and she will be referred to as the Runaway Bride or "that woman who got cold feet before her wedding."

By then, the network morning shows that competed for the best interviews in this tale will have moved on to another quasi-news story - another missing person, a funny animal tale, an author interview or brazen self-promotion for a network show.

As Katie Couric does a two-step with a guy from Big & Rich, the country act of the moment, or Matt Lauer fawns over Steve Wynn's latest excess on the Las Vegas Strip, one thing is clear: What the morning news shows are mostly missing is news.

Brief news round-ups, on the half-hour, routinely take less time than the incessant weather reports, which are accompanied by cheering throngs outside the New York studios, and the oft-repeated local forecasts. Even when President Bush holds a rare press conference of his second term, as he did last week, you can count on far more reportage on the latest random missing woman.

<snip>

Fill Story at Hartford Courant

[ktowntennesseedem]

1. The public crave entertainment far more than information,

and the media is all too eager to supply what we want (or what they think we want and tell us we want) because they crave the almighty dollar far more than the truth.

Great post; hope its a sign that some are starting to wake up to a serious problem and dangerous threat to any democracy.

[mn9driver]

2. Bread and Circuses

They have an unlimited supply. The important news of the weekend was buried by this nonsense: Huge Iraq fatalities, spreading violence in the mid-east and growing evidence that Bolton perjured himself before the Senate committee.

And a large segment of the American people want more, not less, of this type of thing.

:puke:

[scarletlib]

4. I don't think we really know what the public wants where this is

concerned. After all, they didn't really ask for our opinions before they started dumbing down the news. ALso, they still should have the obligations to give us real news and information and then let people choose whether or not to watch it.

I made my decision more than 6 yrs ago. First, I gave up the morning news programs to watch C-Span or BBC, etc. type newsprograms. (Now I listen to AAR)

THen I gave up the nightly news. I did this in 2000 after the selection. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Sad to say my husband will still watch the CBS nightly news and the occasional morning show.

THe only TV news I watch is the local news/weather.

[northstar]

5. The fact that newspaper/mag subscriptions are going way down,

and TV viewership of these "news" shows are also going down, indicates that "circuses" is NOT what the people want.

If only the editors and programmers would wake up and try supplying "real news" (even just as 'an experiment') I believe they would be pleasantly surprised to see a positive reaction from the public at large.

[Atman]

6. You have to keep in mind the whole republican philosophy...

"Optimism!"

Remember, it's us democrats who are always nay-sayers and dooms-dayers. We're always pointing out the bad things and bitching about corruption and greed and killing and illegal wars. Blah blah blah, we're the Debbie Downer party. To them.

The whole republican philosophy is simply to talk about the happy stuff, point out the good in the world, and have faith that things will get better. In doing this, they expect the "national mood" will also change to one of optimism.

They're idiots.

[northstar]

8. I dunno....I don't see optimism in most of the MSM, I see STUPIDITY

As I write this, THIS is what's on the homepage of CNN:

Agent: No full apology from runaway bride


That's not news (as you know). It's truly "National Enquirer" type stuff. I'm expecting any day now to see on the MSM homepages (CNN in particular):

"BABY BORN WITH LIZARD FACE" or "SPACE ALIENS ABDUCT CAT" or "WOMAN IN BORNEO GIVES BIRTH TO LION CUBS"

This type of thing, including the Runaway Bride, used to be in the "Oddities" section - not on the d*mn front page!!!!

I used to feel like :banghead: , now I just turn the stupidity all off (which actually gives me more time to read and do other things I like).

I still hope though, that one day soon, American Pravda (CNN & others) will turn themselves around and start providing real news pieces and do investigative journalism into things that "really do matter" to the public.

Peace

[KharmaTrain]

3. Alas, This Is Sweeps Month...

This is pure greed and exploitation. News is now "controlled" and marketed to maximize ratings that mean profits. It's far easier to control a runaway bride or messy blue dress than it is to cover a war or explain how the economy is being destroyed. It also feels a lot better.

What do you expect in a culture that accepts fantasy over reality...be it in wrestling to politics. They want to feel "superior" and "special" and corporate media plays to the most primal selfish side in all of us. The television culture thrives on creating responses...that mean ratings and revenue...and this now has led to the creation of a parallel universe where perceptions are constantly distorted and emotions are played with...the ways to get the largest reaction/response.

The runaway bride sure got people away from talking about the spike in oil prices over the weekend, the ongoing bloodbath in Iraq and another tax break for the rich. It also had many elements that the corporate media goons look for to exploit...white woman or child in peril...the ideal morality play. It was just amazing to see how CNNServative searched for hours to find a way to spin this story to their favor and went from making the woman the victim into the demon.

Sadly I don't think many people want to face reality...their own is bad enough, they want the tube to be a distraction...an escape into something better than what they have, and the corporate media preys on this. I have no clue how you break this cycle.

[FreedomAngel82]

7. All I have to say is

well duh! I could've told you that.

[lady lib]

9. They don't have to spend much $$$ on this crap.

It's cheap and too many people are eating it up. Turn it all off. Stop feeding the beast. Then write your congresspeople and senators and demand a return of the Fairness Doctrine. It's the only way we'll ever get real fair and balanced news again.

[ananda]

10. erm

Is this supposed to be, erm, n e w s ???

Lol.

Sue

[Daphne08]

11. I turned off 'Countdown' last night because of

its extended coverage of this runaway bride "non-story" and Keith Olbermann's show is one of the few I watch on TV!

[Atman]

13. Countdown pissed me off, too

I thought it might be the one place I'd get a respite from it. I knew he'd have to say SOMETHING...after all, he had his clip to show that he didn't jump on the "There's gotta be a crime here!" bandwagon. Ironically, he did an extended piece basically about how ludicrous the whole affair was, as well as the media coverage of it...which was piling on.

I was very disappointed in that entire show last night.

[dxstone]

12. NEWSFLASH: Major News Media ALL Utterly Corrupt!

Infantile-Fixated Attention Whores Manufacture Phony Reality!
MOST Americans Living in a Vegetative State of Happy Idiocy!
Perfect Assholes Now In Charge of Everything!

And this just in:
Reporters Run Weeping From Their Responsibilities, Hide in Old Barn For Two Weeks Playing Solitaire While Giant Corporate Reptile Behemoths Bestride The Land, Destroying Everything in Their Paths!

BOL-TON DESTROY UNITED NATIONS!



ALL PRAISE MIGHTY BOL-TON!!!

And that's the way it is.
D X Stone

more sinister impudence at
http://presidentevilonline.com

[northstar]

16. ROFL - Have you gotten a PM from CNN with a job offer yet?

:rofl:

You have a certain 'flair' that would fit in nicely with today's "style of journalism".....

This is too funny:

Reporters Run Weeping From Their Responsibilities, Hide in Old Barn For Two Weeks Playing Solitaire While Giant Corporate Reptile Behemoths Bestride The Land, Destroying Everything in Their Paths!

BOL-TON DESTROY UNITED NATIONS!

[Taverner]

14. For some reason I can't shake the image of German 1945 newsreels

The Russians were closing in on Berlin, and the other Allies were hitting Germany from the other direction...

Just months before, the Nazi Germany newsreels showed the glowing victories of Axis powers, even though there were none - children and old men were all that were left to fight off the attacks.

So the newsreels showed clips of the German circus in town, and other entertainment happening in Germany at the time. The propaganda arm knew tales of "victory" would be perceived as BS...and so they showed fluff - just like we are showing today.

[lawladyprof]

15. We could start referring to it as "Tabloid TV"--eom

N/T

[intheflow]

17. This is important.

Someone has finally said it in a mainstream publication. So what do you think... another year before it makes it on to anybraodcast media other than C-SPAN?

[Griffy]

18. Media Reform Conference! I'll be there!!

The new media will grow.. and the existing MSM will get onboard or sink... it will take time.. the right has been building this propaganda machine for more than a decade, Its understandable if it takes a few years to expose!

http://www.freepress.net/conference/

[trof]

19. I'm SHOCKED! SHOCKED! By the way...

I have purchased the exclusive rights to the story of the guy who would have assisted the florist who would have done the flower arrangements if the wedding had taken place.

I'm takin' it to FAUX and makin' me a pile of moola baybee!
;-)

[paineinthearse]

20. Bravo ROGER CATLIN! Send feedback.

I hope his career is not tombstoned!

http://www.courant.com/about/hc-comments-cf,0,4590839.customform

[yorkiemommie1]

21. The Nation this month has great article re: *'s hold on the media

xlnt article.

[phusion]

22. Listen to Democracy Now!

I get all the news I need everyday in a neat little one-hour package.

Amy Goodman rocks!

[chrisbur]

23. This is part of the reason

why we canceled our cable last week. I went to Radio Shack, bought an antenna for the attic and now we get 6 channels and that's good enough for us. Had to get DSL but it's just as fast and our bill is cut from $108 a month to $29.95. Heh Screw them.

My news comes from 3 places nowadays. Buzzflash, DU and Daily KOS. I look at Google News to see what they're feeding the masses.

[AuntiBush]

24. All of us can not be wrong! It's past disgusting! Couric is a Sham!

The only thing keeping me hanging by a sheer thread w/my pay network is C-Span/C-Span2. That's it. All the stations labeled "news" are shams to me now. Side-shows. Heads spinning their own corporate paycheck wheels.

They're so far from being considered American's, they are disgusting to watch.

If CBS would come to the plate it would help. But if C-Span were to slant even another inch towards the Right, I'm cutting off the pay TV for good.

Time to go back to subscribing to The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Sun papers, and "Mother Jones!" Great deal online if you order on their website, I might add and other newsworthy mag's.

http://www.motherjones.com/

[Kurovski]

25. I would think that newspapers would

sound this particular trumpet regularly.

A newspaper is, OVERALL and in general, a better source for news than the TEEVEE.

They SHOULD point out the flaws in broadcast news wherever possible, if only because they are ultimately being lumped in with the "shits 'n giggles 'n tears" type of media.