Friday, January 16, 2009

Broadcast news coverage


I've just finished watching 90 minutes of local and national news on television. While there are serious time constraints on what can be discussed in a news broadcast. The choices made and the paucity of information offered truly appalls me. For example, tonight, our local news consisted of:
- Capture of a suspected robber and a suspect in several murders
- List of three bills introduced in the state legislature
- Opening of new UAMS hospital
- Opening of Hot Springs racing season
- Corned beef sandwiches served at track opening
- Weather
- Weather broadcaster's 25th anniversary with station
- Children's inventions
- Sports
-Person of the week

The national news discussed:
- US Airlines crash
- Bank losses and the economy
- Obama's trip to Washington, prospective weather at inauguration
- mid-east peace process
- Person of the week (Captain of US Air plane)
- Death of Andrew Wyeth

I just looked at one source and found that lots more went on today that was never even hinted at:
- East Arkansas judge appeared before a judicial discipline committee
- Governor was asked to pardon an ex-drug dealer (to allow him to work on a community group he formed)
- Portions of an important road will be closed this week
- Judge ordered another parent to jail for contempt in the Tony Alamo under aged sex case

One source gave these world and national happenings:
- Hertz to drop 4,000 jobs
- Venezuelans to vote on Chavez term as president
- EU accuses Microsoft of harming competition (I'm not sure that is news anymore)
- Rebels in Congo declare truce
- UN agrees, in principle, to peace keeping forcer in Somalia
- Ethiopian peace keepers leave Mogadishu to cheering of Islamists
- Gas fire continues to burn $billions in Nigeria
- World class oil discovery in Uganda
- Thai military arrests more Burmese refugees & stories about treatment of previous lot
- North Korea's Kim il-Jong is reported to have chosen a successor
- Saudi Arabia deports Chinese workers
- Gunmen abduct three aid workers in the Philippines
- Israel to vote on Gaza cease fire
-Uganda bans meeting of African traditional rulers (kings) who were to discuss African unity

Perhaps some of these seem trivial, but each of them could have an impact on many of us.

There is another point. Broadcast news is strongest in reporting breaking stories. Newspapers are strongest in prolonged coverage and in-depth reports. Why then, do the networks continue to try in the areas where they are the weakest? It seems to me that smart reporting would be headlines and pictures where available and important. (I don't think photos of neighbors talking about someone in the neighborhood accused of a crime are germane to a story. Besides, they usually say "he seemed like a quiet fellow. I don't believe he could have don it."

Many years ago, TV networks decided that their news should be a profit making program rather than a public service (the original reason the FCC mandated news programs). This has led to an emphasis on the sensationalist stories about movie stars and former football players to the exclusion of news that could affect each one of us.