"Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded."
Walter Abbott, (b. 1950), Media observer and commentator
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TV Weenies have been pulling the material in their news and sports broadcasts off the wires and out of newspapers for years. Even at the national level, if you want to know that will run on the major alphabet nitworks, pick up a copy of the New York Times.
What is different is that now they are considering having one joker do the deed for all stations -- from Bangor to Bakersfield -- with a complete loss of local identity. Since local coverage is the main reason most people tune into the local yokels in the first place over a national sportscast such as ESPN, this latest cost savings measure is indeed a sign of desperation.
I’ve been calling news stations and newspapers all over the state today. About 10% of the calls I’ve actually gotten through to a person and most of those stopped at clerks who are incapable of taking a message. I tried speaking to Jason (please let his boss see this) at Houston’s KHOU who was too rude to even take down my information and when I said I’ll call another tv station he hung up.
My eyes have been opened today. I am shocked at how many newspapers and tv stations are merely getting their stories from AP rather than actually going out and researching what they’re reporting. We all know AP isn’t reliable but the local media is happy reguritating lies and shoddy reporting to the sheeple. They can’t even be bothered with looking at the true facts on a particular business’ web site. At an Austin news station, the woman did manage to get to the site but couldn’t understand the simple pie chart and said she could only report what the business spokesperson told her. Hey, I’m the Queen of England but don’t bother taking 5 minutes to check the facts that prove I’m not. I’ll eat that pie chart if she didn’t vote RAT.