One angry monkey

This is the first of many “Monkey Rants”, where I get to “rant” about what annoys me about the world today. The target of today’s rant is News Bulletins, and the ever-increasing lack of actual news content…

I am an un-informed monkey these days because I am no longer able to watch the news on TV. I can watch any 30 second slice of a broadcast, and immediately my blood starts to get “angried-up”.

The thing that annoys me the most about news broadcasts, is the apparent lack of “quality” news. Now I define “quality” news as being the facts of a story. I don’t want to know about the reporter’s opinion of the issue, nor do I want to hear wild accusations or potential reasons for what happened. All I want to know is what happened, and why it happened.

For example, a plane crashes, and people die. I want to know what plane crashed, exactly how many died or were injured, and if possible, why it crashed. What I DON’T want, is some reporter saying there’s up to 300 dead, when only 50 are actually confirmed dead. Yes, there were 300 on the plane, but if you haven’t accounted for them, there not really dead, are they? I also don’t want to hear the reporter saying “well BLAH may have caused the crash, or BLEH may have contributed”. If you don’t know, don’t guess. Making up sensationalistic numbers and facts just to win ratings does not make you a credible news source.

Another thing that annoys me is the presenter. The norm in Oz is either a stunningly beautiful female / handsome male presenter (which usually serves to distract you from the woeful news coverage) or some weathered old person past their TV “prime” to tell you what happened in the world today. News is not about eye candy. Quite frankly, I’d rather watch some crusty old presenter drone on about the news, then have some bouncy blonde woman tell me in her happy-vibe voice how 400 people were killed in an avalanche. Sex does not sell news. Facts sell news.

Advertisements for news bulletins annoy me also. “Coming up in our broadcast tonight…BLAH, BLEH, and we will tell you about the latest thing that will shorten your life”.
Hooking people into watching your show is a desperate attempt to earn ratings, because your show is obviously not good enough to stand on it’s own. And these days, the line between “quality” news, and product placement is very, very blurred. “The latest product to combat <insert random medial issue> is now available / being trialled”. Seriously, it’s bad enough I have to sit through the ads between the news show, now I have to watch them inside the show?

These days, the only source of news I have is the morning radio that forces me out of bed, and reading articles on the web (e.g. this great site – and no it’s not an advert for the site either). But slowly these sources are being overtaken with the “fluff” from TV land.

So what is the future of news? Will it be turned into some 24Hr infomercial-type format where the news becomes the new ad-break? Have the sci-fi movies got it right in that “fluff” will take over, and the facts will be blurred into the background?

So what’s your take on all this???

Monkey Rant over…