Why I Hate Local News, Or the Dearth of Politics
By Chad A. B. Wilson
Published June 2, 2007, 5:55 pm in News, Rhetoric.
This one may be only tangentially related to politics, but I think it's important because it explains why so many people are uninterested in politics. Or maybe it's a symptom, not a cause. Cause and effect is tricky, remember?
So I was talking to an acquaintance last week who was telling me that he made sure to watch local news every night. I was surprised. "It comes on before the national news, right?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he told me, "but I make sure to turn it off before then."
"What? Why?"
"National news is too depressing," was his response. "I just like to know what's going on in the community. I don't want to hear anymore about Iraq or anything like that."
Now that response was quite interesting for someone who loves politics and the news. I have always detested local news, but I had not watched it in quite a while so I felt I couldn't speak so authoritatively on the subject. So last night, I turned in on, and I was horrified. There's definitely a difference between national and local news, and the difference isn't pretty. Sure, national news is depressing. Twelve more soldiers dead, a man with incurable TB on a nine-hour flight to Atlanta, Iran getting closer and closer to nuclear armament, George Bush finally proclaiming global warming is a danger, and a whole host of other things I love to write about.
But local news? Let's chart last night's local news show, shall we?
First, there was the story of the Houston Texans player who has been charged with some offense like assaulting his wife or girlfriend. This was the same player who had been tasered a few months ago and caused a stir with the police. Then there is the Katy teacher who admitted to having sex with a fourteen year old. Oh, juicy. And then there was the repeated phrase, "It's the first day of hurricane season: are you ready?" And then the police officer who was charged with DWI.
What did these stories help me with? Did they help me understand my community better? Nope. Did they improve my understanding of the world? Nope. Did they help me figure out my place in the world? Absolutely not. Everyone of these stories just made me shake my head in despair. They focused on the tragedy of humanity, the individual sins that people commit. Sure, these sins make these people interesting, and the sins and the people deserve to be ratted out, certainly. But to have an entire show dedicated to the bad things that happen in the community? Is that helpful at all?
But let's be fair; it wasn't all negative. There was also the story about some cat woman who rescues cats in neighborhood. Of course, she then lets them roam all over, though, so I wonder if they were really rescued in the first place. And then something about the VFW that I forgot to care about.
Watching the local news confirmed my opinion that it is nothing but trite crap. Is this what "informed" people really want? There was absolutely nothing about any political situation on the local news program I watched. Nothing about city hall, nothing about the Texas legislature, nothing like that. I was at least expecting something to help me understand my city, or something about what the city is thinking. Are there any pending local ordinances that I should know about, for instance? Anything that is actually going to affect me? But nope, nothing. I was distraught. For some people, like my acquaintance, this is their only source of news. And he's not the only one like that.
Local news has really just become an extension of the Jerry Springer syndrome. People don't really want matters of substance. They don't want anything that will actually help them. What they want, and what the local networks know, is to be entertained. Jerry Springer is entertaining to most for two reasons: 1) these people are crazy and we can laugh at them, and 2) we're glad they're not us. The same is true for the news. I'm glad I didn't get tasered or arrested for DWI, but it's also just kind of entertaining to hear about someone else who did it. It's the kind of thing that you can take to the now-metaphorical-water cooler and start a conversation with--"Did you hear about that Texans player who got charged with whatever?" "Oh, yeah, that's crazy!" And so on.
It's entertaining, and it can make you fun at parties, but is it really helpful? Not to me, it isn't. What I want is something that will improve my life by making me more informed, and this stuff doesn't do it. Not in the least. For me, it's no different than watching Seinfeld, which happens to be my favorite TV show. The difference is that Seinfeld at least makes me laugh; it doesn't sicken me. There's something to be said for that kind of catharsis, but I think what's good about comedies like Seinfeld is that they at least make me feel like I'm developing wit. Sure, I'm still far behind wits like Jonathan Swift, but I'm getting there. I won't be watching local news anymore, so maybe I'll develop some more smarts.
Comments & Trackbacks
No Comments/Trackbacks for this post yet...
This post has 8 feedbacks awaiting moderation...
Leave a comment