The decline of TV News?
Variety’s Brian Lowry bemoans the state of TV News as he sees it…
A FEW YEARS AGO, I mused about the prospect of Peter Jennings interrupting the nightly news to read ad copy, the same way radio stars like Sean Hannity and Paul Harvey do. Alas, the joke has become reality, with CNBC’s Donny Deutsch doing precisely that, reading a plug for Philips Electronics during his cable talkshow.
Obviously, nobody will ever confuse ad-man Deutsch with newsman Jennings, but this concession to advertisers (in a multifaceted deal that includes sponsorship of “NBC Nightly News”) is the latest shoe to drop in what has been a signature year for TV news — one marked by a slow downward stumble in terms of long-eroding standards.
An interesting article to read to say the least. Really, it’s kind of amazing to think how exactly dumbed down and somewhat useless some news programming is these days. I mean, it’s sad when everything is about getting the ratings, oh, and money in without necessarily even getting done your purpose, giving us NEWS, not “WTH is up with Britney Spears? Why’s she not wearing underwear? We’ll talk one hour about this with our panel of experts!” In all honesty, I will admit I am a fan of some Fox News programming, but primarily for their actual news coverage (you know, about 30-40% of their programming), and even that’s thinned down anyhow.
Anyway, Nancy Grade meet Jenny Jones! Completely different situations, sure, but maybe a sign of the wake up call some TV personalities need to remember they can only go so far.
Comment by Chris — December 3, 2006 @ 2:47 pm