Should cable TV get out of the "news" business ??

[kentuck]

They do a disservice by even attempting to report the news. Wouldn't they be better at tabloid "news" since that is what they do most anyway. They actually do tabloid news fairly well. If there is anything you need to know about Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, or runaway brides, they can give you all the intimate details. Just don't ask for details on the budget or Bush Social Security plan. They don't report political details - unless it has something to do with a mole on a dick or a blowjob.

[alittlelark]

1. They're not 'In the News Buisness'

How could they get out of something they have not been in for 7-8 or so years?

[Mist]

2. Beat me to it! They're in the infotainment business. n/t

[leftofthedial]

8. there is no news "business" in Murka

at least not in the mainstream

[Jim Sagle]

3. When do they ever attempt "to report the news"?

:shrug:

[UdoKier]

4. I just think the labels need to be regulated.

It should be illegal to call Laci Peterson crap "news" - or tabloid celeb crap.

National news programs should cover subject matter that is strictly relevant and national in scope. And all political issues should be covered with both sides EQUALLY and fairly represented. Otherwise, it should be labeled. "Gossip" or "Propaganda".

It's illegal to call 10% orange juice mixed with orange sugar water "orange juice". The same should hold for news.

[KharmaTrain]

5. "We Mirror Society"

Cop-Out Journalism 101. The news only reports what society asks it to. Or so this is what I was once told by a Journalism professor.

Remember, this is May ratings time...News means nothing, ratings means it all...especially with the mighty Jonathan Klein at the helm ready to run CNNServative into the rocks as Faux Lite. This weekend wsa a sample of what's to come.

CNNServative had a cheap, easy story they could manufacture and control...ala Schaivo...with plenty of people to yak into the mikes and turn this into some tragedy/morality play. I'll bet that newsroom sunk to near depression when she turned up alive and there wasn't a corpse to report. They thought they had the next Scott Peterson and ended up with the latest Julia Roberts.

What made this non-story even more gauling or amusing (depending on your perspective) is how they tapped danced and still tried to manufacture this story after it blew up on them. It went to "misguided bride" and now "should she be charged". They had to trounce all over this person's privacy and since she didn't turn up as a corpse or in some real peril, she now pays for being the "liar".

From one who used to watch CNN 24/7 for nearly 20 years (that started to end on Election Night 2000) I just scan it for amusement now. The anchors, especially the females, are maniquins, Blitzer is either a foolish idiot or a devious spinner and the overall product and credibility is lacking. Good luck, Mr. Klein.

[TahitiNut]

7. "Cheap" is a key word.

It costs a helluva lot less to plant a camera in the grass at a nursing home near a broadcast affiliate than to send a team over to Iraq or any other remote location ... and then to go (gasp) in actual search of information rather than let the "usual suspects" to parade in front of the camera.

"Cheap" is on the increase. Ordinary schmoes who're willing to behave oddly on a "reality" show in a cheap setting cost one helluva lot less than an ensemble cast like West Wing. This is one of the reasons game shows like Wheel of Fortune are popular with the networks. They cost next to nothing to produce. Even the prizes are donated for the value of the advertising time.

I refuse to watch "cheap". I'll watch West Wing.

[lady lib]

6. Larry King right now...Macaulay Culkin tells all.

Need I say more?