Thursday, October 28, 2004
Why U.S. Cable News Sucks!
When I watch the "news" channels on cable TV I expect to see and hear some news. Instead all I get are talking heads, discussion shows, interviews, debate shows and opinions. What ever happened to reporting STRAIGHT NEWS? 80% of the time all that is ever on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are talking heads, "talking about the news" instead of "giving us the news".
I hardly ever see actual footage at the scene, unless it is live and the producers can transform it into a live reality TV event, like the OJ white bronco police chase.
I have been watching the Spanish Channel news even though I don't understand Spanish because they show news footage from around the world.
I am sick of discussion/debate/opinion/analysis shows when all we hear are people and pundits and hosts giving their commentary and opinions and spin on everything. I don't mind these shows but it shouldn't be all that is ever on. Thank god for CNN Headline news. A channel that will actually give you straight news when you turn it on!!
I delved into this on This post on Alarming News.
Here is part of the comment section i am referring to.
Fox is like 80% opinion show and 20% straight news. It also jumbles them together so you never know what you are watching if a layperson just flipped it to Fox News. Atleast CNN has a seperate channel that is only straight news.
Posted by: PAUL at October 22, 2004 05:29 PM
CNN's 'only news' channel is complete nonsense. I think its more biased than actual CNN. And I think most people are smarter than you give them credit for.
Posted by: Karol at October 22, 2004 09:41 PM
Karol weren't you on CNN Headline News?The opinion shows talk about the news. When a channel is 80% opinion and 20% straight news, I laugh when they claim not to be biased.
Posted by: PAUL at October 23, 2004 04:48 AM
Paul, your 80/20 statistic was made up on the spot, right? Watch Fox all day, it's more 80/20 in the other direction. Still laughing?
And I had two post a few days ago about Headline News and thei bias here and here. I was also once in the Bay News newspaper in Brooklyn, doesn't mean they don't love their Democrats. Posted by: Karol at October 23, 2004 04:11 PM
Okay Karol, I admit i made up my stats based on my channel surfing observations, so I did some research to be "fair and balanced".
Here is Fox News line up for a 24 hour period.
In a 24 hour period there is only 2 hours that can be considered straight news. Looks like I was being generous with my 80/20 stat.
When I watch the "news" channels on cable TV I expect to see and hear some news. Instead all I get are talking heads, discussion shows, interviews, debate shows and opinions. What ever happened to reporting STRAIGHT NEWS? 80% of the time all that is ever on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are talking heads, "talking about the news" instead of "giving us the news".
I hardly ever see actual footage at the scene, unless it is live and the producers can transform it into a live reality TV event, like the OJ white bronco police chase.
I have been watching the Spanish Channel news even though I don't understand Spanish because they show news footage from around the world.
I am sick of discussion/debate/opinion/analysis shows when all we hear are people and pundits and hosts giving their commentary and opinions and spin on everything. I don't mind these shows but it shouldn't be all that is ever on. Thank god for CNN Headline news. A channel that will actually give you straight news when you turn it on!!
I delved into this on This post on Alarming News.
Here is part of the comment section i am referring to.
Fox is like 80% opinion show and 20% straight news. It also jumbles them together so you never know what you are watching if a layperson just flipped it to Fox News. Atleast CNN has a seperate channel that is only straight news.
Posted by: PAUL at October 22, 2004 05:29 PM
CNN's 'only news' channel is complete nonsense. I think its more biased than actual CNN. And I think most people are smarter than you give them credit for.
Posted by: Karol at October 22, 2004 09:41 PM
Karol weren't you on CNN Headline News?The opinion shows talk about the news. When a channel is 80% opinion and 20% straight news, I laugh when they claim not to be biased.
Posted by: PAUL at October 23, 2004 04:48 AM
Paul, your 80/20 statistic was made up on the spot, right? Watch Fox all day, it's more 80/20 in the other direction. Still laughing?
And I had two post a few days ago about Headline News and thei bias here and here. I was also once in the Bay News newspaper in Brooklyn, doesn't mean they don't love their Democrats. Posted by: Karol at October 23, 2004 04:11 PM
Okay Karol, I admit i made up my stats based on my channel surfing observations, so I did some research to be "fair and balanced".
Here is Fox News line up for a 24 hour period.
In a 24 hour period there is only 2 hours that can be considered straight news. Looks like I was being generous with my 80/20 stat.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
RED SOX WIN!!
It's time to celebrate baby!!
The most anticipated game in sports history...The greatest collapse in sports history...The greatest comeback in sports history.
I heard all these things in the last 12 hours. It's a good day to be a Red Sox fan.
When my Red Sox went down 0-3 in the ALCS to the dreaded Yankees, everyone was telling me it was all over. I said, play it one game at a time and 4 games in a row don't seem like such a big deal, never been done before be damned.
When the RedSox were down 0-2 I made a bet with this girl I have been hanging out with. It's a bet I really wanted to win because of what was at stake (I won't go into the wager).
I didn't get to watch most of game 5 because I was working. I learned who won over the police radio, "Red Sox Win", "Wicked Awesome" and then a string of unauthorized radio trasmissions as Redsox and Yankee fan cops bickered over the police radio.
Game 6 I got to watch.
Game 7. I stupidly planned a dinner cruise around the harbor a couple weeks ago. Of course back then I wasn't thinking about baseball and game 7. After the cruise I rushed to the nearest bar I could find and found the RedSox to be up 8-1 in the 7th inning!!
2 innings later it was over!! The Bar Tender was a Red Sox fan and after the Red Sox won he played "we are the champions" on the stereo to the dismay of a bar full of Yankee fans. It couldn't have been any sweeter.
Turned out the girl I made the bet with didn't care about the Yankees, she only cared very seriously about winning the bet. She got mad at me because of the big smile on my face because in her non-sportfan mind, I was smiling and gloating about winning the bet. She didn't comprehend I was smiling because I love the Red Sox and have waited many many years to watch them defeat the Evil Empire and advance to the World Series. Once I explained that I wasn't gloating about beating her and that it was bigger than that she became a better sport about losing the bet.
This years RedSox team had a lot of character. The crazy hair styles. The long hair crazy hair wild unshaven look of the Red Sox Vs the boy scout looking Yankees.
The Red Sox needed to win for their fans. They are the greatest fans in baseball. In a sport that has litterally became a PASTtime that has lost its passion and has lost the young generation of Americans, Boston is the only real exception. Red Sox fans are still passionate and kids are actually into baseball.
I over heard this on TV.
"The Redsox are going to beat the Yankees"
"But what about the Curse"
"The Curse is a myth"
"Oh yea, then how do you explain Ben Affleck?"
Good question. Affleck is the latest incarnation of The Curse!!
It's time to celebrate baby!!
The most anticipated game in sports history...The greatest collapse in sports history...The greatest comeback in sports history.
I heard all these things in the last 12 hours. It's a good day to be a Red Sox fan.
When my Red Sox went down 0-3 in the ALCS to the dreaded Yankees, everyone was telling me it was all over. I said, play it one game at a time and 4 games in a row don't seem like such a big deal, never been done before be damned.
When the RedSox were down 0-2 I made a bet with this girl I have been hanging out with. It's a bet I really wanted to win because of what was at stake (I won't go into the wager).
I didn't get to watch most of game 5 because I was working. I learned who won over the police radio, "Red Sox Win", "Wicked Awesome" and then a string of unauthorized radio trasmissions as Redsox and Yankee fan cops bickered over the police radio.
Game 6 I got to watch.
Game 7. I stupidly planned a dinner cruise around the harbor a couple weeks ago. Of course back then I wasn't thinking about baseball and game 7. After the cruise I rushed to the nearest bar I could find and found the RedSox to be up 8-1 in the 7th inning!!
2 innings later it was over!! The Bar Tender was a Red Sox fan and after the Red Sox won he played "we are the champions" on the stereo to the dismay of a bar full of Yankee fans. It couldn't have been any sweeter.
Turned out the girl I made the bet with didn't care about the Yankees, she only cared very seriously about winning the bet. She got mad at me because of the big smile on my face because in her non-sportfan mind, I was smiling and gloating about winning the bet. She didn't comprehend I was smiling because I love the Red Sox and have waited many many years to watch them defeat the Evil Empire and advance to the World Series. Once I explained that I wasn't gloating about beating her and that it was bigger than that she became a better sport about losing the bet.
This years RedSox team had a lot of character. The crazy hair styles. The long hair crazy hair wild unshaven look of the Red Sox Vs the boy scout looking Yankees.
The Red Sox needed to win for their fans. They are the greatest fans in baseball. In a sport that has litterally became a PASTtime that has lost its passion and has lost the young generation of Americans, Boston is the only real exception. Red Sox fans are still passionate and kids are actually into baseball.
I over heard this on TV.
"The Redsox are going to beat the Yankees"
"But what about the Curse"
"The Curse is a myth"
"Oh yea, then how do you explain Ben Affleck?"
Good question. Affleck is the latest incarnation of The Curse!!
