Is there anyone out there who doesn't already know that it snowed on the east coast?
I had a long-standing habit of getting up, grabbing my cup of coffee, and turning on the TV so I could watch the first 15 minutes of the TODAY Show to get the news. What was I thinking? Over the past few years the TODAY Show has morphed into The National Enquirer or some other equally unsavory tabloid found at every grocery checkout.
Today, the top story, I kid you not, was about a ski lift that crashed (on the east coast, of course). No one was killed; no one was seriously injured. I couldn't believe that there was nothing more noteworthy in the entire world than Chatty Kathy standing next to her silent boyfriend telling us in that 'oh my gosh' tone of voice about their close shave with death as they hovered 6 feet above the ground. (This is while other people around the globe are struggling to survive poverty and disease, earthquakes and floods.)
After the ski lift story we were back in Brooklyn, where streets still aren't cleared from the greatest snowfall they've had in years, maybe ever, so people were angry at the government (the same government to which they earlier had sold their souls because they didn't want to do anything for themselves, including think!) for not having the streets plowed - like NOW.
People have become so unreasonable. Ridiculously unreasonable.
I'm tired of the TODAY Show never giving us real news anymore. All I had wanted was the first 15 minutes devoted to real news. Was that too much to ask??
So I'm taking the little TV out of the kitchen cupboard to make room for my mom's Christmas dishes.
So long, TODAY Show. Do you wonder why your viewership has plummeted??
My Mom used to listen to the Today show too just as you did to get the major news in the first 15 minutes. Sorry to hear it has gone so downhill.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a lovely family around you at Christmas time.
Tom and I don't have cable, so there's no t.v. -- I don't miss it. Before I moved, I would watch "Today" just to get the weather; admittedly, I was a sucker for the royal wedding announcement, but other drivel irks me greatly. Yeah, it snowed out East; they've gotten a lot of the white stuff in recent years. When I grew up in NYC, we had ONE blizzard when I was in kindergarten -- I remember sledding in Central Park. They're not equipped for even a small snowfall, given the congestion and traffic and masses of people. So, did everyone really think they could clear a foot of snow in 20 minutes to make the roads and sidewalks safe and let the trains run on schedule?!?!?!? Sheesh!!! The "news" shows need to offer real news, and the folks who got snowed on need to just take a deep breath and get some perspective. I have spoken ... :)
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. It seems that all of the news channels are going the same way. I used to watch American Morning on CNN when I got up, but now I can't stand it. They can't decide who should anchor the show so they keep changing people around, the news isn't really news anymore - every news show seems to have an angle or an agenda to promote. What happened to just presenting the facts and letting me think for myself?
ReplyDeleteIt cracks me up! Everyone panicing with all this snow! I would love to be snowed in!! But Wisconsin is too too efficient!
ReplyDeleteI really just wanted to say my sister and I listened to the Festival of Nine Lessens and Carols. It was so pretty! Loved all the accents too! Thanks for suggesting it!
Sounds like there are many of us in the same boat - too bad we can't make a change.
ReplyDeleteI was a long time viewer of ABC back in the Peter Jennings Days. Now the stories are 'star related' and all about the reality TV show that was on last night - or even the fashions - REALLY ???? I just can't deal with such thoughtless and stupid reporting. Even worse our local ABC station does more reports and shows more photos of pets and animals - and I am really just fed up! I have noticed even when a reporter (national and local) does an interview- they don't ask any of the questions to get the answers I want to know about the story - they leave the interviews and we know less than when they started.
My husband went to Fox News for his early info - but they are bad in other ways. Yesterday they had a guy at the airport standing on one of the snow piles in a parking lot - saying how awful it was there - and yes I know they are not used to getting that much snow - but as he moved away from the snow piles - I noticed they had less snow on the ground in the background than we have now - - granted I am in Buffalo NY and we deal with snow - because if we didn't we would always be shut down.
But that snow pile he made such a big deal about - was half the size of a snow pile in one of our parking lots.
Me ... I get my news and weather online. I read the headlines and go to the stories that have importance. I really hate what our "state run media' allows us to know and not know.
PS - about the chair lift story - Fox news showed the same video clip of the guy being let down - like 6x in a row while they talked. Guess it was the BIG new everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Early Show girl, but they axed all my beloved morning people as of Jan. 3. UHG! May have to take those first minutes of the morning after the girls get on the bus to exercise or meditate (I'm chuckling as I type that!). On the up side, if the ski lift IS the biggest story, that means there was no major death event! Just looking on the sunny side! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThey're all kind of getting like that. I used to be a Good Morning America watcher but quit when they let Elisabeth Hasselbeck start doing segments. Now, I just check email, read a few blogs and walk the dog. It's much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, from where I come I am not qualified to talk about this but I will present you with a parallel version.
ReplyDeleteThe two main channels in Britain compete heavily against each other as the BBC has the news but ITV has the money. ITV has been struggling with morning news ratings for years (with comparisons to your Today stories) so they offer big money contracts to those in the BBC doing a good job (That also applies to the entertainment stars). Recently ITV poached a sort of ex sports presenter turned combination of chat show host & light news presenter. Unfortunately the new breakfast programme is still a disaster concentrating on people stories and entertainment/celebrity gossip that people don't want to hear at that time of day (employment reasons). Although I have issues about the direction of the BBC controlling the way that we are meant to think, it is still gives what we need to hear although.... give me the BBC website any day to avoid being sucked into the thought process. I choose what I want to watch when I want to and get more accurate weather that I can study more carefully. Having said all that, I never have time these days to watch very much !!
I never watched those morning shows. When I was little my mom watched Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons reruns in the morning (now you know where I get it from!) ;)
ReplyDeleteNo snow here in Texas. It seems we are the only state without it from what I'm hearing!
:)
Rach
Well, it's been oddly comforting to get such great feedback from equally disgruntled news watchers. Thanks for your comments. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm in complete agreement with you. It also seems like the news has been reduced to common sense lessons for the masses. I swear the other day, I watched the news rehash the same segment 10 times in 20 minutes with the message being "when it snows, the roads are slick". I thought about that today when I was in the tire shop with my friend and the big sign in the waiting area said "brakes affect your stopping power". Really? And this is why I depend on Twitter for my news. 160 character limit can be a great thing!
ReplyDeleteThat was the main story on the local news tonight. I kept waiting for something more....the girl drove me nuts. Glad I wasn't the only one who thought this was an odd main story.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much stopped watching tv completely...esp morning shows like that :(
ReplyDeleteI just read this for the first time. I'm so with you. Though for some reason I still totally watch, but it's become one giant commercial for NBC shows and an episode of E News! Ugh
ReplyDeleteLots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com