Cable news has too much hype
Published 9:05 am Thursday, August 28, 2008
It gets difficult watching the cable news channels cover the Democratic National Convention. In fact, it’s been difficult to watch them cover the campaign season period. And we are sure we won’t enjoy watching the cable channels cover the Republican National Convention next week.
On CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, we grow weary of seeing reporters interview reporters, anchors interview network-paid analysts, and the left-vs.-right bash sessions that really don’t accomplish anything. It’s as if the cable channels want a divided America for the sake of ratings. Their mantra: Hype up conflicts and divisions that might not be there simply for the sake of keeping eyeballs glued to the TV sets.
Furthermore, it gets difficult to tell which people speaking are paid by CNN, Fox News and MSNBC and which people aren’t.
Don’t these news companies talk to regular people anymore? And are the only politicians they bring on the air are the out-of-politics ones who now work for the news companies? Can this even be considered journalism?
It’s a little easier to watch the old TV news standbys of CBS, NBC and ABC. They do a better job of speaking to real people and to real politicians. But the best choice seems to be turning the channel to C-SPAN and forget all the talking heads on all the TV stations.
We encourage people to follow the political conventions. These are momentous decisions for America. However, be knowledgeable about your media decisions, too.