"An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted." - Arthur Miller

Saturday, April 02, 2005

"Pope Not Dead"

Isn't that a creepy headline for fox to put up yesterday during the Pope deathwatch? Is it me or are the news stations just getting more and more desperate. Instead of seeking out the news and telling us as it happens, the manufacture it, manipulate it, and beat it to death. 20 years, hell 5 years ago, all that would have occured would have been an update during the normal news cycle on his condition and a break in if he died. Now, the stations want bragging rights that now one cares about.

"Ooh fox was behind by 30 seconds, can't trust em, guess I'll have to watch CNN." I seriously think the news executvies are scared shitless that is what would happen even though there is zero proof to backup such an assumption. Even worse, that assumption is a bit insulting, like saying Americans have no attention span so better keep this crap up just in case.

The end result of all these deathwatches, one story a day appraoch that 24 hour news services are taking is that not only are we all going to get sick of watching them, but we are now much less informed. There is an entire world out there, the news doesn't stop because a pope may die, or some bulimic idiot, or cause jackson showed up in pajamas. Where is the information i want about the rest of the world? Why are viewers not demanding that we get that information? We need to learn that we have the power. When these stations keep insisting on the one story a day approach to news...turn them off. Force them to understand that their jobs are to report on the news as it happens...not wait on such as this sickening Deathwatch being conducted on the Pope. There is not even dignity in a death like that.

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