# Fucking worthless sensationalist local "news" (and bonus tangent on idiot parents)! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 19, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982 "2005-04-19T02:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/21 "2005-04-19T17:07:02Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > I doubt local news sensationalism started with Fox. Or for that matter, that we could ever attempt to say with what network (and in which market) it began. Fair enough, although I saw a documentary made by some Michael Moore wannabes that presented evidence that Fox was, indeed, the first. But until I see corroborating evidence, I should probably be skeptical of the claim. > [@](#): > > Though I’d say it’s slightly different ass each sucks. Yes, and I’d hoped I’d gotten that across in my post, though I probably didn’t. I am, however, reminded of a story the local Fox affiliate advertised a few weeks ago. “The government says it’s OK for food manufacturers to put bug parts and rodent hairs into your food! The shocking story at ten!” I didn’t have to watch the “news” to know that the government says it’s **not** OK for food manufacturers to **allow more than a small amount** of bug parts and rodent hairs into your food. They took the FDA’s minimum health standard and twisted it into some sort of government conspiracy to poison America. That’s just irresponsible reporting, no matter what station aired it. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/22 "2005-04-19T17:12:31Z")
I quit watching local news when I lived in Oklahoma City. One of the channels interrupted Seinfeld’s classic “Master of His Own Domain Episode” with a _ **special broadcast** _. It turned out that the University of Oklahoma football team had walked out of that day’s practice to protest some damn thing or other. It was _years_ before I was able to see that episode again. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/23 "2005-04-19T17:35:00Z")
> [@chaparralv8](#): > > The 'Skins, on the other hand, are about to trade LaVar Arrington for the #3 pick in the draft. I apologize for the hijack, but where did you hear that? I just looked around and could only find that he’s still bitter about the $6.5 million he thinks he’s owned. Nothing about a trade. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/24 "2005-04-19T17:39:55Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > I quit watching local news when I lived in Oklahoma City. One of the channels interrupted Seinfeld’s classic “Master of His Own Domain Episode” with a _ **special broadcast** _. It turned out that the University of Oklahoma football team had walked out of that day’s practice to protest some damn thing or other. No shiite. If a station interrupts a broadcast then it better be because my dick is on fire. The last time I saw an interruption was because the Red Sox were shaking hands with Bush. And that couldn’t have waited until the regular broadcast? ---
**Author:** ![Andros\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Andros\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andros_X)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/25 "2005-04-19T18:01:55Z")
The big problem with local news is that they use all of those prepackaged news segments that corporations give them to promote their products. I blame part of that on the media companies running the station because they don’t allocate enough staff for researching news stories. I also blame the editors that decide that a segment on breast implants is more newsworthy than the recent town council meeting. And I blame the increasingly casual attitude toward journalism in this country nowadays. It’s sad to think we’ve gone from Edward R. Murrow to the trash I see from my local NBC station. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/26 "2005-04-20T00:32:31Z")
I officially gave up on my local news broadcast about two weeks ago. The anchors apologized for the coverage that morning, but explained that with the death of Terri Schiavo and the Pope on his deathbed, they didn’t have time to report what happened on _The Apprentice_ the night before. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/27 "2005-04-20T00:48:37Z")
I have TiVo, so the only thing I watch live is baseball, and even then I typically turn on the game, hit pause, read for fifteen minutes, and play again so I can skip the ads. I am therefore generally spared the excesses of commercials and news promotion. (I didn’t know about the surreal Hootie ad until I read about it here, for example.) A couple of nights ago, though, I happened to be watching in real time, so I was subjected to the following news teaser: “Crime wave in _\_! But you’ll never believe what these thieves were stealing. Tune in at eleven!” That was it. That was the whole thing. And I’m thinking: _…the hell?_ Seems to me that if the central fact of a news report doesn’t warrant mentioning in the advertising, then it isn’t really news, it’s just storytelling. The whole pitch is, “Tune in for something offbeat and amusing.” And when the nightly broadcast has been reduced to sports scores, weather, ambulance chasing, and [Oddly Enough](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=757), then there’s absolutely no point at all in watching. I guess it works, though. People enjoy being told fun stories, whether or not they have anything to do with anything. Sad that journalists have turned into camp counselors spinning yarns around the fire, but apparently that’s where the money is. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/28 "2005-04-20T16:34:24Z")
So last night I’m watching the last 15 minutes of _House_ because this girl I’m seeing told me it was one of her favorite shows. As soon as it’s over, we have the promo for Fox 5 at 10:00. Teasers for three stories follow: 1.) We have a new Pope. They promise an update. How many updates can they possibly give that haven’t already been given? 2.) The Redskins made a trade in draft choices. This is a top story? This can’t wait until the obligatory 5 minutes of sports near the end of the broadcast? 3.) Some new supervirus. This should be the top story, but what I really didn’t appreciate was that while they were talking about it, they showed some kids playing on a swingset. Nice way to scare people. I found myself saying out loud, “I refuse to be manipulated like this.” ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/29 "2005-04-20T17:09:36Z")
Oh my god! Paer shredders can hurt you? NO! I’m going to take my tongue out of my desk one this instant and send it back to the Boston company for a full refund! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982/30 "2005-04-20T17:13:09Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > I was inundated every fucking commercial break with the local Fox late news “expose:” I should’ve known this would be about a Fox affiliate. Our local affiliate once ran a teaser about a pink cloud hovering over the city and to stay tuned to find out what it is after the commercial break. I missed seeing an aurora borealis–somethign decidedly not common this far south–because of these idiots! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-worthless-sensationalist-local-news-and-bonus-tangent-on-idiot-parents/299982.md?page=1)