Over the past few weeks I have intermittantly watched breaking Hurricane news coverage, breaking political news coverage and of course, the sweet delight of a blank tv screen with the power in the off position. In college I thought I might make a career in tv news, either as reporter or shooter/editor. Plenty of talented folks have chosen this career. Let me comment on the coverage of Hurricane Gustav. I flip flopped between the Weather Channel and MSNBC. The Weather Channel had dispatched their team of meteorologists to some dangerous locations along the Gulf Coast, reporting via satellite while being buffeted by increasing winds. However, even while holding on for dear life against the gale force winds, the Weather Channel pros continued to produce useful information, and tossing to one another to continue the enlightenment. 
When the man or woman in front of the weather map back in the studio was on air, they made sure to look at and talk about the big picture, that the storm making landfall was not the all clear sign, and being sure to focus on the known information, not the unknown information. MSNBC and CNN on the other hand seemed focused on speculation, the unknowns and fear. 
As soon as water was seen topiing a levee, MSNBC went to live continuous coverage, commenting on the potential destruction that could result from a levee breach. As with my commentary on Olympic coverage, the major networks seem to focus on the negatives, and seem disappointed when news does not live up to expectations. Certainly ratings increase during coverage of big events, disasterous or otherwise, but as with the current negative political coverage, I think the average tv viewer is smarter than the networks give them credit for. It was William Randolph Hearst who said "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." In other words, dramatic images are not always accompanied by useful information, so the media tends to make stuff up until they have actual facts. In this case, the Weather Channel is the clear winner - they present facts, and lacking new information, their on-air talent all have the knowledge and backgrounds to ad-lib useful accurate information, andare clearly working in the public interest. Moving on to the female vice presidential nominee, whose name I can no longer utter or hear without cringing. I'm not saying I disapprove or approve of her candidacy or her policy ideas. I have not yet made my decision, as there has been little useful information provided by the media. Rather, I believe the news media has really shown their true colors of yellow journalism in reporting not on the facts but on the scandals, or perceived scandals. In college, my journalism professor taught us to follow the scandal to attract viewers or readers, giving examples involving Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Madonna (this was 1992 - today it would be Lohan, Spears and the Jonas Brothers (ack, I can't believe I keep up with this crap) ). Although I think he was illustrating a point about current journalism becoming sensationalised, and warning us to move in the other direction. But unless you are the news director or editor, the choice is often not in your hands what and how you report. From a tv production point of view, with both the storm coverage and the VP coverage (another storm) the highly skilled technical and artistic resources of the networks are being squandered on fleeting events and the fleeting coverage of such forgettable events. We should not forget any significant event, but it seems that significant events are being so trivialized that they become immediately forgettable. In the case of the esteemed lady from Alaska, the over-saturation-by-trivial news coverage makes viewers WANT to forget if only to be spared from the forgettable and in some cases unprofessional media coverage. Whenever I see a fleeting news story or a trivialization of a news story, or likewise an overblown version of a trivial issue, I thank my college internships in tv news for helping me decide not to go into tv news. I feel sorry for my colleagues in tv news whose talents are occasionally squandered in such poorly executed coverage. These are my opinions, opposing viewpoints are welcome. Thanks for reading. | 
