Local Vs. National News

Watching the local news tonight, ABC7, i just couldn't stand it anymore. I lost all hope that local news is anything more than bland, cheap, scare tactic, entertainment. I know what you will probably say, "what, you just found that out now?" No, i've always known that local news was usually crap but didn't fully realize to what extent it was crap until today. Here's an example. They take 5 minutes of the broadcast to show two bobcats in a tree outside the fence of some elementary school. The fence is about 10 feet high and the cats are no threat. Especially after animal control got there and kept an eye on them. What? You're telling me in a city of millions there's nothing more important than two bobcats in a tree, way outside the security fence of a school, that officials say were never a threat, is one of the most important things that happened all day? Okay, there are more examples but this was at the top of my head. And all of the news anchors seem to be carboard cutout impersonators of mediocre national news anchors. I tell you, today was the last day. Unless there's another televised car chase next to my house (like today), i'm not watching any more local news. If i'm going to get nothing but entertainment in news, i choose national news.

The only local over-the-air news I can take anymore is on at 11PM on KCOP-13.

-NO COMMERCIALS for the first 20 minutes (Monday thru Friday only), and it's fast paced.
-Try it, I'll bet you'll like it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Between the WWF style weather reporting ("Now here's Tv5's own Storm-Trackers, bringing you the latest on SNOW-SLAM '99!") and reporting of reality show plotlines as News ("Tonight, another suicide bomb in Israel kills five, dozens wounded, the Governor imposes wage concessions on state workers in the face of a billion dollar budget shortfall, and Jesse was voted off the island on Survivor...")I have by and large been unable to watch my local news.

I tuned in again last week to get the weather. Fortunately it was mundane enough not to rate a catchy title (Breezy-Bash '04!!) but was instead treated to a reporterette excitedly sharing her discovery of an underground "Gas Out" movement sweeping the internet that was going to finally teach the big oil companies a lesson.

sigh, I'm expecting an in depth expose on the FCC imposition of a modem tax next week.

The local news around here, both Fox and ABC is horribly campy. I tune in for a few minutes of local news coverage when something exciting happens locally. But otherwise they do exactly what you describe, pick a couple of national or international news items and give grave descriptions about how this proves the world is coming to an end.

But it's the little snippets of their interviews with local residents that really honk me off. They really go out of their way to pick the most unfortunate people and then quiz them and edit it to make them look even less educated and coherent. I know some of them aren't coherent, but it can't possibly be as bad as they make them look.

At a previous equally small town I lived in further north a few years ago, I was rear ended by a lady at a stoplight because the local news dorks were setup in the median and she was watching them report on something rather than watching for the light to change. They took one look at the accident (which did minor damage to my car and completely trashed hers because she did manage to slam on the breaks at the last minute dipping her front end so that my bumper went through her radiator instead of contacting her bumper, oh well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and rapidly packed up their stuff and ran away rather than even bothering to offer to call the police for us or anything. Nasty.

Fox Channel 26 is how I start my Day (well actually my clock radio comes on with Pat Gray on TalkRadio950 KPRC - but until coffee hits my system it doesn't really register!).

Sure there is a lot of sensationalism. But good traffic and weather and no DISCERNABLE bias....

I can't stomach Katy Kouric and the other phoney ballonies on the National Networks, and the local hosts on 2, 11 and 13 don't exactly yank my crank either!

What gets me is how the local news has become a promotional platform for the network the station is affiliated with.

The local FOX station is absolutly shameless about this, featuring "exclusive" interviews with cast members of FOX reality TV shows, and what amount to 5-minute commercials for 20th Century FOX-backed movies.

"Investigative journalism" continues to hit new lows - all the stations basicly latch onto something irrelevant or a misunderstanding and harass the poop out of the alleged offender.

I certainly don't want my inditement of the local news to lead anyone to the conclusion that I prefer to watch the national news! I DO NOT. Those guys are even worse cause they spout the same campy, jaded, spinning crap. But they have enough money to make it look good.

I get my news from a remarkably diverse selection of websites every day and it's much more interesting and no less real or well researched.

That is very true James. At least national news makes the fear-factor-entertainment-news look better. And its so true that they always seem to single out the most bizarre people to interview for on-scene reporting. You'd think by these interviews that the average person in the US never made it above 6th grade. Or another example i saw recently was when they interviewed this lady at an accident site who could barely speak english and had absolutely Nothing to add to the story in any way. It went something like this.

lady: "Well, uh, i see dem coming and he crash into dat man, and uhh, he, uh, look very bad. I say, oh my god, I think he hurt bad. And den de police come."

Thats not exactly what she said but it was pretty close.
Another common scare tactic news stations use is the one regarding children. Now this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Here's a made up example: "Deadly paper envelopes. The hidden household dangers they pose to your child and what you can do to keep them safe. That story and more at eleven."
The only reason the quality of local newscasts bothers me is because many people probably get their only news of the day from these outlets. I'd say 50% of what they broadcast is worse for children, for example, than going to a rated X movie. If you don't know any better you could wind up paranoid, scared, and neurotic. Or even if you do know better, if you tune in day after day, you could still wind up paranoid, scared, and neurotic.

Oh YEAH! Channel 11 was hyping how they are gonna tell us how bad all the Taco trucks are.

"You might never eat at one again after you see this, STAY TUNED for the 10 o'clock news!"

EFF 'em all!

I remember watching that the other night. They blow it up so much. And Pat Grey kicks @$$! Along with all others on 950kprc. I am in Houston as well. So I know what you're talking about. And I am getting really irritated how all the channels in Houston are competing with having the most pointless information. Esspecially, Channel 2. With them and that moron who makes every dumb driver feel even worse. AH! The "Road Rebel" is his name. And now them and 26 have the whole, we fly to local schools in our helicopter and give an award to a teacher. (I say this yet they came to my high school a few weeks ago and I thought the helicopter was pretty neat)(Then as they left, we were allowed to stand on the track as they took of not but 35 yard away). The power of those things are amazing! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Cameron

I watch 26 morning news.

I watch a lot of 11 for CSI(s) NCIS etc.

I WATCH 24 on Fox!!!

Sometimes watch Fox 9pm news.

But no news EVER from 2, 11, or 13!!!

this mornings radio "news" (CNN feed), 10 seconds about how the price of gas has gone up 25% in the last year, and 2 minutes about something about American Idol.

and WHY does my local news station spend 7 minutes on "local" news, 18 minutes on sports, 2 minutes on weather, and 15 minutes on car crashes and house fires in the rest of the country?

Me? I read the raw news wires - AP Reuters, etc, plus watch raw unedited news feeds - of course, I have a small advantage - I work for one of the networks in direct support of the news division - in fact, I write a lot of the software they use to get those news wires to their desktops