The Anna Nicole Channel
February 8, 2007 on 11:20 pm | In Main, Media |
Well, cable news has reached a new low.
After I put the kids to bed around 8:30 p.m., I generally surf the Internet and check out what’s doing on TV in the worlds of sports and politics.
From new developments in Iraq, to the Scooter Libby trial and even to the nascent preidential campaign, I figured there would be some interesting discussions on at least one of the cable stations.
Not a chance. Joe Scarborough, who is generally a thoughtful commenator, devoted his entire show to the death of Anna Nicole — as did Larry King (no surprise with Larry) and the already unwatchable Hannity & Colmes.
At the 10 p.m. hour, the endless obsession continued. I must admit I was shocked. Cable news has always been too superficial — even facile — but this night sent its prestige hurtling toward a new low. I mean, even the travails of diaper-wearing astronaut Lisa Nowak took a back seat to the demise of a big-chested bimbo who … well, what did she do with her life anyway?
If Smith had been a notable person, that would be one thing. But this is a woman who is famous for being … famous. She has no significant achievements to speak of. I hope the media critics and the consumers of news let the cable news outfits know this is a complete waste of airtime and that executives badly misjudged the market for this kind of junk food for the brain.
Even a tour inside Sean Hannity’s brain would yield more insight than the cause of this loser’s death …
P.S. Plus you have the perverse spectacle of two men arguing over who fathered her infant child. Typically, men run like rats from a paternity battle, but in this case, the carrying on of Anna Nicole’s legacy is at stake, so attention must be paid …
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Well, there goes another fantasy, down the drain!
Thank God Julia Roberts was first on my list of want to meet! I have to admit, Anna was third on the list….Andie MacDowell is a close second to Julia..both were way ahead of Anna…
Marshall
Comment by Marshall Miles — February 9, 2007 #
Couldn’t agree more. I was a kid when JFK was shot, and I recall the wall to wall TV coverage. That was something; this Anna Nicole Smith thing. It sort of pales in comparison. For me at least. But what does it teach kids who watch this stuff? I guess the lesson is that, these days, the Annas, Paris Hiltons, etc. are indeed as important as, say, Winston Churchill, FDR, JFK were.
My degree is in English and journalism. I’m thinking of deleting the journalism part from my resume.
By the way, NY Times didn’t have the Anna death story on its front page. It was ” buried ” on P. 12, where it belongs.
Comment by terry mccarthy — February 9, 2007 #
The way MSM is covering this, you’d think she was the Pope! Heck, the Pope didn’t even get this much coverage when he died (but he also did not die at an early age).
Larry King made a comment that the biggest tragedy is that of her baby daughter. Everyone seems to have forgotten about her.
Comment by Amy — February 9, 2007 #
This says more about the people who watch cable news than cable news itself. The folks who run those channels know who there audience is. The expectation that cable news is or should be anything more than the equivalent of super market check out literature is pretty unrealistic.
There are plenty of places to go for more thoughtful commentary. My internet TV site has over 300 stations, many of which provide real time news that is a step well above Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
BTW, did you see Diane Sawyer interviewing Baby Assad? Mr Murdering Dictator, what songs do you have on your iPod? Pathetic…
Comment by jake — February 9, 2007 #
Terrence, Someday I’ll tell you my JFK story. In 1963 I was a first-grader in a Dallas elementary school.
Jake, I fear you are right about dopes such as me who continue to watch cable news. Sometimes, though, Scarborough will have a great discussion on the war. But ultimately, I am relieved when Gene Burns comes on KGO at 10 p.m. I know I’ll hear an intelligent discussion about something worthwhile — even if it’s a California issue.
And if Gene is on vacation, I retire and read a John Grisham novel.
P.S. How much does your Internet TV site cost? Do they offer a free sneak-peak?
Comment by Terry — February 9, 2007 #
Let me guess, Terry. You were in the car with Bob Sheiffer and Marina’s mom. Seriously, I’ll bet you have one hell of a story that trumps most other ” Where were you when you heard JFK was shot? ” tales.
Comment by terry mccarthy — February 9, 2007 #
There are a number of internet tv sites. The best of them is FreeTube, which has all the US news sites, as well as most of the European streams. Channels include France24, EuroNews, DW (Germany), ITN (UK),SkyNews (UK), CNN International, BBC, Al Jazeera, CBC, CSPAN, IBN (India), and Pentagon TV. They are all free and most of them broadcast in uninterrupted streams (with the notable exception of CNN, which cuts you off after ten minutes, requiring a reload). One thing to keep in mind when using FreeTube is that it works much better if you clear your browser history each time you close your browser (you can choose that option in most browsers). It also helps if you defrag your hard drive on a regular basis. Also, you can watch Charlie Rose clips on both his site and Google Video. Also PBS has an on demand service, although their servers are notoriously slow in the evening. As I’ve noted on my blog, I shut off the cable a couple of years ago and don’t miss the drivel coming out of Fox News and MSNBC one bit. The whole Anna Nicole Smith is probably going to convince a lot of other people to do the same. Oh, and lastly, all the major networks have put their good shows up on the internet now, so you can watch CBS’s Innertube, NBC’s Rewind and ABC and Fox TV’s full episode sites. CBS has done the best job with this, although Fox’s site is good too.
Comment by jake — February 10, 2007 #