Tim Russett of NBC's "Meet the Press" was a guest on CNN's Larry King last night discussing general media issues. The main thrust of the conversation was the "Newsweek" Koran article fiasco, but he did entertain questions from callers as well. One caller made a comment regarding the cable news channels almost blinder-like focus on certain stories, foregoing the investigation of "real news". Mr. Russett agreed with the caller saying that major networks tend to saturate the airwaves with coverage of only one or two stories. I tend to agree as well.
More than one cable news channel is involved in the Saturation News Network. It seems that the major players - including CNN, MSNBC, and FOXNews - are in a continuous melee to track the popular story. Currently, that two dominating stories are the Michael Jackson trial and the Senate filibuster.
This different type of media bias recently had me thinking about the difference between real news and popular news. April 08, 2005 saw two terrorist attacks in Egypt that targeted tourists. It was of special interest to me, as I was planning a trip there this summer. I only had access to the U.S. cable news channels here in Oklahoma City, so I continually switched between the networks mentioned above. It turned out to be an exercise in frustration as the story of the moment was the "Run-away Bride" - Jennifer Wilbanks. Useless news from hell! I yelled at the television "Come on! Show some real news!" The same people were interviewed by different reporters, asking the same questions! It was so pathetic I felt like wrapping an ugly coloured towel around my head to hide! This continued for about twenty or thirty minutes with just the tickers providing semi-real news. Finally, one of the stations cut for some other news. It took all of two minutes, before returning to the crazy-eyed fiancée. AAgggggghhhhh!!!!
This type of media focus is not restricted to the cable news of the United States. It is apparent in Canadian news programs, local news, and even radio news. Part of the problem is the commercialization of news, with many stations buying their information from the same sources instead of doing investigations themselves. Maybe it is just my problem as I like to be informed about more than just one issue. Personally, I do not care what Macaulay Culkin had to say on the stand, just give me the results at the conclusion of the trial. Then again, perhaps there are just too many slow news days......
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