Here's the problem... I'm tired of seeing news advertised. Just like everything else (food, microwaves, dildos), every channel trys to have better news and so it is A. advertized and B. made overly 'interesting'. If there's one thing that shouldn't need to be interesting, it's the news... ok, my main reason for this rant is I'm tired of seeing how good the news geeks are at PowerPoint. You know what I mean? I'm talking about the ten second, very stylized clip that opens each section of the news.

(example)

Start clip: Pictures of troops, American flags, etc. flash up onto the screen in a sepia tone color.

Then a title appears... "AXIS OF EVIL"

It promptly fades out and is replaced with more pictures...

Then we cut to the news.

Ok... Clearly this project took some time to create... or maybe it only took five minutes... none the less, IT’S NOT NEWS! That was time (and money) wasted and I don’t like it.

Secondly, what’s with this “Real Video Caught on Tape” style reporting... you know? It’s the not very interesting news story so they have someone with a deep riveting voice to do a voice over... “everything seems to be going ok, BUT THEN... WHITE WATER RAPIDS WITH FLESH EATING PIRANHA WHO DOUBLE AS LAND MINES...” Am I the only one who hates these shows and hates it even more when the news imitates them?

On the Other Hand...

Having competing news stations does help in some cases... it gives you a wider perspective of coverage and encourages the stations to produce better news. That’s not really the issue... Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the reporter who was “reporting” from Iraq... but was later found to be doing it from a coat closet... IN WASHINGTON.

Maybe this rant has no validity... it sounded pretty good in my head... It’s very weak and not well developed... anyway, if you have comments about it I’d enjoy hearing them.

All I’m saying is that the news should be enough...