People wonder why I am going bald. Some may think it is genetics but most of my hair loss is due to pulling it out from watching the news. As for new hair growth, the more that comes off the top, the more I gain in some of the strangest regions of my body…but that’s for another time.
It has gotten to the point that I can no longer sit and watch the news. It isn’t all because of politics, it has just become unwatchable. I think the only true news related item I care to watch is those car chases the local stations follow from news copters. I shouldn’t be enjoying it because it can become dangerous but for some reason, I’m enthralled. Unlike those car chases in the movies where the guy getting chased gets away, we all know the guy on a 5:00 newscast (have you ever noticed that these ne’er-do-wells always get into a chase during the afternoon news) is never going to get away. He’s being followed by a police helicopter and three local news helicopters. Where can they run? Well, everywhere it seems. They go one for hours and cover hundreds of miles.
When the station does get back to news, it’s the same story I read on-line a couple of hours ago and all they are doing is rehashing it. They also have a 4:00 o’clock, 5:00 o’clock and 6:00 o’clock news cast which change personnel but reading the exact same stories over and over again…until some idiot tries to outrun the police, then back to the helicopters.
Another part of the news cast that drives me nuts is the entertainment portion. I realize that I live in the entertainment capital of the world but do I really need to know which designer gown some over-the-hill actress wore to some made-up film festival in a small suburban city? Really, I don’t. Why not do this, take the time used on that and give it to the sports report. The sports section of all these newscasts have been reduced to nothing. What is unbelievable is how much they pay their sports anchors for about 20 seconds on the screen. How about reporting all the scores and showing more highlights. What kind of gown former NBA star Dennis Rodman wore last night would be more appealing.
National news is no better. They come on a little later than our local newscasts and usually repeat what we already heard at 4, 5, and 6 o’clock but with news anchors who have a much bigger hairstyle budget than local anchors. We can’t be saved by a police chase on these shows, the networks are too classy to do that. They are not too classy to give credence to some crazy conspiracy theories and devote many man hours to it, while ignoring truly important news because it isn’t click bait. For clarification, click bait is not some fishing term (well, it could be) but refers to stories that are so outrageous, people will click on them on-line just to find out what it is. We may deny it but we are all voyeurs.
Radio news is not much better. They have one hour of news and repeat it 24 times a day. The only reason I listen to the radio news station is for traffic reports. That can be frustrating at the same time.
The other day I had a long drive and I made sure to listen to the “accurate” traffic report to make sure my trip would be smooth. After about 15 minutes on the road, I came to a complete stop and was stuck as a car burned to a crisp on the side of the road. This was one of the major freeways in the Los Angeles area and it was completely closed down. If I had known before I left my house, I could have taken an alternative route. Not a word on their traffic reports on the “fives.” I sat for an hour on this blocked freeway while listening to the traffic report and not a word about this SigAlert. There were reports of debris in lanes somewhere in Orange County. Lanes closed due to construction on another LA freeway but not a word about a fiery crash and complete freeway closure on the road I was on. Maybe if the accident was the result of a police chase, I would have known about it before I ever started my journey.
Cable news has become a circus side-show. While they spend a few minutes talking about news, the rest of their programing is the television screen crowded with boxes showing the so-called “Anchor” and several guests expressing their opinion on what little news was just reported. It’s like the Brady Bunch from hell. There are some cable network shows that do actually share facts but the number of cable news networks that are just making things up and not being held responsible for the lies they spread are growing and it has become scary.
Who’s to blame for all this crap (yes I used the “C” word) on our news? That would be you, me and everybody else who tunes in to these broadcasts. Maybe if we were more discerning and demanding, they would report real news and ignore much of this dribble that is put on our televisions.
Oh, it’s 5:00 o’clock and I hear a helicopter overhead. Got to head to the television. Might be a good chase going on. Film at 11:00.
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