News, Not Snooze

I stopped watching the tv news several years ago. I couldn't stand the constant stooping to the lowest common denominator. I also got very irritated by the delivery styles of many anchor people. It seemed that, no matter what was being reported, they maintained the same facial expression, tone and move on to the next segment, even it they were speaking about a terrible tragedy.

What I would do, if I were to start, or take over by force, a tv news station would be to bring things up a few notches. I'd bring up the integrity, the truthfulness, the quality of the material and the intelligence of those reporting. One thing I'd love to do would be to hire Terry Gross to be my lead anchor, and then give her full rein over the subject matter. Her co-anchor would be Jon Stewart. This should point things in the right direction. As it stands, I happily listen to NPR and read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal for my news. And I never miss the pictures of baby elephants when the circus comes to town.

Great documentary, if you haven't already seen it: