[Slynky]

Now you are going to get me started!

I don't listen to the news for several reasons:

1- Inaccuracy I can still remember when an escaped convict was running around our county several years back. I tuned to see if they had caught him yet. Finally, they did. Cornered him in the basement, handcuffed him, and took him away. Of course, looking for more info on the story right in our "back yard", I tuned to another station to hear them reporting he had been captured in the attic of the house. But that's not an isolated example. Over and over, you can hear different death tolls from accidents, or money taken from a bank, or the number of people at a rally. You really just can't believe but about half of what you hear or read.

2- Hype and Exaggeration As mentioned earlier...the weather is a prime example. In Atlanta, the favorite thing to say is, "Could there be snow in the forcast? Tune in at 11 to see." And the names of things when a few clouds appear on the horizon..."Stormwatch 2004" where the crew rolls up their sleeves and promises to keep us informed all night long of developments.

3- The Hooks You know what I'm talking about. "Is the Internet endangering the life of your 13-year-old daughter? See our story later on for a warning!" Followed by, "... story coming up!" Then, the "...after this word from our sponsor!" And even then, the first story up after the commercial isn't what they have been baiting you with. Actually, even when they say, "next", it isn't necessarily next.

4- Sports and Weather Yeah, I know I'm un-American and lack all manner of male libido when I say sports takes up too much time. In a 30 minute show, approximately, in America, 20 minutes of it is for actually content and 10 minutes is for commercials. OF that 20 minutes, they devote about 8-9 minutes to news, 3-4 minutes to weather, 4-5 minutes to sports, and the remaining 2-3 minutes to human interest. That's just too much. Sports is a waste and I can reduce the weather to about a 20-second report when I relay it to my wife. "Rain supposed to be coming in tomorrow afternoon or evening. Won't freeze, though. Next day's supposed to be nicer, though...I think they said in the 50s." There! Done!

5- Live Reporting There's an aggravation for sure! Would someone please explain to me what the point is of the average live report!?!? Say a robber has been shot and taken to the hospital. The stations says, "And now, for a live report, we take you to 'fillin the blank'!" Then we see 'fillin the blank' standing in front of the hospital. There, 'fillin the blank' recites facts that happened hours ago. BUT, it's a live report! Meaning it's being filmed even as we watch! Of course, forget the fact that the facts are no more pertinent than they would have been had it been reported from behind the desk!

6- Home Town Connection Another one that pi$$es me off! It goes a little like this: "An Arabian Airliner went down over the ocean and up to 200 lives are feared to be lost." (That's about it) BUT, just let them find out someone from Georgia--or even better yet, Atlanta--was on the plane! Then you can get another minute on the crash...of course, it's usually only a picture of the family, a report of why he was on the plane, etc. What amazes me is how news is hardly worth mentioning unless someone from the "center of the world--Georgia or Atlanta" is somehow in it.

Like I said, don't get me started! I'm not even sure how they look at themselves in the mirror. Throw them in the pig pen with lawyers, used car salesmen, and telemarketers for all I care!