I look at CNN.com about 27 times a day. I don't like not knowing something, not understanding a problem, not knowing what potential good and bad things are going on in the world. Today, again, I typed in cnn.com in my web browser, mildly excited about the fact that I hadn't done this in about 4 hours thanks to a busy work day, so there could be a potentially big news story that I got to read about (hey, I'm a news junkie, that's all).
When I got there, these were the headlines:
House votes to extend jobless benefits, new home tax credit
H1N1 becomes dominant flu virus
Arrest made in New Mexico nun's death
Iowa mom convicted of son's murder
Sandra Bullock in messy custody battle
Matsui and the league that Ruth built
...and then locally in Austin (still on CNN):
Austin officer suspended 15 days over May shooting
Pitonyak accuses friend Hall of killing
Officer involved in shooting suspended 15 days
911 tape reveals priest's plea
I don't know if it's just me, but I was really taken aback. I know this is not out of the norm to see stories like these (well, except the story about the Yanks winning the World Series..that's a rare headline..) but for some reason, today, I was hoping for some great, interesting article, perhaps one that says "Scientists able to find link between basil and cancer treatment" or "Child, 9, saved by her golden retriever puppy while choking."
THOSE stories are the ones that help my outlook on the day get better. I'm a journalism junkie, have always been. Perhaps I blocked it out or it was blocked out for me, but I remember when headlines like "First victim ID'd in Cleveland horror" were a rarity. I remember when Dan Rather would come on and the biggest story of the day was Oprah in Texas for a trial, the headline being "
Yeah, the text sizes back in '98 were also atrocious. Either way, my hope is that when I have kids someday (far, far, far in the future) they won't have such terrible things to read on their breaks. The hope would be that instead of crimes becoming worse, and far more complex and definitely more shocking, we will be coming up with actual ways to fight crime, terror, children bringing guns to school, parents abducting other parent's kids, you get the idea.
Sorry, this is not a funny post, it just really bothers me that this is what our news is. It's not news that a body was found on Riverside Dr. in Austin. It's sad, yes. But not news. It's not news because of the 5 w's that you learn your first day of J-school (who, what, where, when, why and then the extra "how"), you don't have any of those answers.
Who? Nobody knows.
What? Dead body, but past that, you have nothing.
Where? Well, we know where the body was found, but we don't know if that's where the crime occurred. So, you have nothing.
When? Don't know.
Why? Don't know.
Oh, and on top of that, you have the same guy on TV saying "We're doing everything we can do solve this murder." Great, I feel so much better now.
Let's try and find ways to create the problem of too much good news. Now THAT is a news story.
PS- did you forget about the Oprah trial also? I did. Here's a link to a story about it from 1998...and yes, it's from CNN. I especially love the URL (oprah.beef):
http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/21/oprah.beef/
H1N1 becomes dominant flu virus
Arrest made in New Mexico nun's death
Iowa mom convicted of son's murder
Sandra Bullock in messy custody battle
Matsui and the league that Ruth built
...and then locally in Austin (still on CNN):
Austin officer suspended 15 days over May shooting
Pitonyak accuses friend Hall of killing
Officer involved in shooting suspended 15 days
911 tape reveals priest's plea
I don't know if it's just me, but I was really taken aback. I know this is not out of the norm to see stories like these (well, except the story about the Yanks winning the World Series..that's a rare headline..) but for some reason, today, I was hoping for some great, interesting article, perhaps one that says "Scientists able to find link between basil and cancer treatment" or "Child, 9, saved by her golden retriever puppy while choking."
THOSE stories are the ones that help my outlook on the day get better. I'm a journalism junkie, have always been. Perhaps I blocked it out or it was blocked out for me, but I remember when headlines like "First victim ID'd in Cleveland horror" were a rarity. I remember when Dan Rather would come on and the biggest story of the day was Oprah in Texas for a trial, the headline being "
Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef 'lynch mob'
Yeah, the text sizes back in '98 were also atrocious. Either way, my hope is that when I have kids someday (far, far, far in the future) they won't have such terrible things to read on their breaks. The hope would be that instead of crimes becoming worse, and far more complex and definitely more shocking, we will be coming up with actual ways to fight crime, terror, children bringing guns to school, parents abducting other parent's kids, you get the idea.
Sorry, this is not a funny post, it just really bothers me that this is what our news is. It's not news that a body was found on Riverside Dr. in Austin. It's sad, yes. But not news. It's not news because of the 5 w's that you learn your first day of J-school (who, what, where, when, why and then the extra "how"), you don't have any of those answers.
Who? Nobody knows.
What? Dead body, but past that, you have nothing.
Where? Well, we know where the body was found, but we don't know if that's where the crime occurred. So, you have nothing.
When? Don't know.
Why? Don't know.
Oh, and on top of that, you have the same guy on TV saying "We're doing everything we can do solve this murder." Great, I feel so much better now.
Let's try and find ways to create the problem of too much good news. Now THAT is a news story.
PS- did you forget about the Oprah trial also? I did. Here's a link to a story about it from 1998...and yes, it's from CNN. I especially love the URL (oprah.beef):
http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/21/oprah.beef/
