I HATE the News

[DannoE]

Is it just me, or is news today mostly about the reporters covering the topics rather than the topics themselves?

I ask because I noticed that this week's NEWSWEEK was written almost entirely in the First Person, meaning that it was a shmoz of opinion and fact, often more focused on meta-topics like popularity and coverage density than about the actual facts of the stories and/or the topics at hand. And I figure that if NEWSWEEK has decended to this, that the rest of the world must really be screwed.

Here's the article that really set me off:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151783

I'm so tired of having these asshole reporters try to put this stuff in context for me. I'm sufficiently versed on the topics to make my own opinions in most cases, and anyway, a better plan would be to just give me MORE FACTS so I could make my own, now-informed opinions! Eek! Even in the sports page, I can't just hear about how Vince Young played. I have to also hear about how he then offended the freakin' news crew with his comments after the game!

*sigh*

Help! Is there anything decent out there besides The Economist? Am I losing my mind, or has the self-obsessed helicopter-parent generation finally come of age, only to destroy journalism as a profession through their own vanity?

Anyone?

[Ugga Bugga]

The problem is that people are so cynical of the news collection and reporting process.

The media has picked up on this, and tries to report the cynicism, as if to own it, or come off above it.

[DannoE]

The problem is that people are so cynical of the news collection and reporting process.

The media has picked up on this, and tries to report the cynicism, as if to own it, or come off above it.

I agree that that's part of the problem, but the so-called solution is simply making the problem worse. Much worse. If these guys would just report without ego--I understand that it's impossible to report without viewpoint--we'd all be a lot better off. I mean, it's a big part of the process just deciding what you cover. Adding layers of opinion and "context" on top of that just distorts what is often already quite complex.