January 31, 2007

I hate our media

They are just so bad. I tuned in after work this afternoon to see MSNBC alerting us to "suspicious packages" in Boston. Breathlessly, the blonde idiot wondered as they showed images from Boston. As it turns out, there was nothing there:
"The "packages" in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim's animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards."

Make no mistake about it, I don't blame whoever alerted the authorities, and I don't blame them for being cautious. I don't even blame MSNBC (and I assume the other cable news shows) for mentioning it. But here is a tip: report the packages and THEN SHUT UP UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING!

Is that so radical? To expect that news reporters might not speculate endlessly while people's fears are elevated for no reason? Sometime there will be reason to fear, and we should respond appropriately. But until then, stop blathering.

2 comments:

Wasp Jerky said...

Did you see the press conference with the marketing guys behind the "suspicious packages?" Hilarious.

Bootleg Blogger said...

Streak- if it had gone on much longer I'm sure we'd have had a nice title- "Lite Brite Bombers" or something better. One reason I hate our media so much is that I know that they know better. If you want to see some pretty good news coverage find a way to see the international versions of our media. CNN international and BBC world service are enjoyable to watch. Foreign Correspondent on BBC is a great, tough question type show. Unfortunately, the only way to get this type of coverage is to live OUTSIDE the US. Even the magazines are better in their international form. Newsweek is a great example. Fareed Zakaria'seditorials are always a good read. Again, don't look for it on a newsstand in the US. Within the same corporate office they know what good news reporting is and they have opted for entertainment. Later-BB