This is slightly disturbing.

[JacksonDean]

Wow, you're a rebel.

Blanket statements work for you, I get it. So your concience is clean.

Next time, go off in the supermarket on that lady buying the National Inquirer. Your scorn would be better placed there.

OK, just for shits and giggles, lets see what the top stories are on the website of the station I work for. Shall we?

Iowa Headlines

Former Hawkeye Everson turns himself in, appears in court
News Minute: Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
Appeals court denies appeal from dad who fell asleep
Debris found in Wis. more than 100 miles from Iowa tornado
Former Neb. sheriff's deputy faces child porn charges
State health officials plan HIV/AIDS conference
Des Moines ranks 9th in Kiplinger's Best Cities for 2008
Seven projects get grants to improve water quality
Secretary of state posts Election Day video
Former Williamsburg coach charged with theft

Hum. Where's all the sensational news? I know we get emails gallore saying the public wants more stories on water quality. I'm sure we wouldn't do that story if there wasn't a huge outcry for that.

Where's the celebrity stories? Where's the shit news? I don't see it. Maybe our webguy is an idiot. He's somewhat new so give him a break.

*sigh*
Yeah, I should know better than to respond to you with anything but shit-eating agreement.

[Bengal]

I asked one question. Where is the sensational news on our website if all media is crap spewing entities like TMZ?

Show me and I'll shut up.

As you can see, you touched a nerve. But you knew you did, that's why you added the whole "I'm not going to blah blah blah" in your first post. That was your exact intent.

But if you don't want to answer that question, fine with me. But it's quite fair to ask it.

[Bengal]

Honestly, you think there's a difference between the crap about celebrities and the "real news"? It's all entertainment, sensationalism. Personally, I see very little difference in any of it.

As for the term media, it is a blanket term. Television, radio, internet... it's all media.

Oh, and I'm not trying to threaten your manhood by disagreeing with you, so before you fly off the handle in your response if you so deign to do so, I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you.

Remember this post? All media is the same, right? So my question is very fair.

And that last part is very funny. You did get into a pissing match with me. Your exact intent. So just own it.

[Cygnus X1]

The biggest complaint I have against the local news is this:
The format, and the lack of content.

Typical "newscast":
Current weather. Like, look out the window weather.
Banter.
News story tease.
Commercial.
A solid 3 minutes of news headlines. At least one story involves the weather.
Weather. 10 day forecast.
Major story feature: Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Sports tease, and banter
Commercial
Sports
Banter
Weather again.

I figure there's typically 4 minutes of news in every half hour.
And a lot of it is slanted towards "health awareness blah", which is usually fluff.
I get the most news from my incredibly small town newspaper. Which is owned and published by the editor. And they are very detailed, and there is very much citizen commentary. Good journalism is the norm with them.

[JacksonDean]

I get the most news from my incredibly small town newspaper. Which is owned and published by the editor. And they are very detailed, and there is very much citizen commentary. Good journalism is the norm with them.

I think this is actually the best way to get news that matters. Good local newspapers generally provide more news in however many pages make up the "Regional" section than the local news stations do. I don't listen to the radio much here any more, but when I did, I noticed that even most of the shows are syndicated.

[Bengal]

My problem with newspapers is they are as slanted as Fox News. I beileve Gannett ownes the Des Moines Register. Slanted to the left as they come. Most "major" newspapers are. Why they hell do they indorse candidates? They have no business doing anything like that. But they do. So I find most major newspapers to be just as bad as CNN and Fox News.

Now I'm not sure about the Redneck Review. I don't get into the back woods too much.

[Bengal]

I know we have a smaller paper around here. It's called The Press Citizen. I just found one from a few weeks ago. It's chocked full of used car ads, garage sale ads, who the next fetured stripper at Big Earls is complete with raunchy picture, and sexually charged personal ads.

Great journalism there.

But maybe that's just in Iowa. I'm sure there are some good papers. But I bet they only reach a very, very small percent of the population. Remember USA Today is the #1 selling Newspaper today. And I have a hard time calling most of what they do news.

Followed by The Wall Street Journal. Good paper there.

Then the New York Times. You can insert whatever joke you want here.

Face it, hardly no one is reading the newspaper anymore. It's time is up like the Dodo. Pretty soon, it's gone.

I do find that somewhat sad. But I don't read the paper so whatever.

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

i buy about 3 papers a year. and that is just around the holiday for the ads. otherwise, i will buy papers when on vacation to read while sitting at the pool. i just go on line to see what is going on mostly. papers are mostly yesterdays news anyways.

[Cygnus X1]

I know we have a smaller paper around here. It's called The Press Citizen. I just found one from a few weeks ago. It's chocked full of used car ads, garage sale ads, who the next fetured stripper at Big Earls is complete with raunchy picture, and sexually charged personal ads.

Great journalism there.

Yes, I've seen those types of rags, also.
The type I'm talking about is a small town type paper, even though we are a fairly large suburban community. You can see the editor any number of places, and he's highly accountable for that paper, and people can get quite vocal if there is disagreement. It's quite good.
My brother in law runs a print shop in upstate New York, and publishes one paper and prints many other of those type hometown papers. Similar attitudes.
+1 one on the various syndicated McNewspaper conglomerates.
It's as bad, or worse, than the cable news networks.

[Bengal]

Cyg,
Yours unfortunatly is the exception. Those kinds of papers are great, run by a family or someone connected with the community. I like those papers. You're lucky to have one in your area. Sadly, most are gone.

Most of these big papers use to be good when family owned but most have been sold to huge conglomerations who could really give a shit about the public they serve.

That "redneck" comment was a bit below the belt there Cyg. Sorry about that. I get passionate when discussing this issue.

[VitaminG]

aren't all the news agencies still family run affairs? By the Fairfaxes & the Murdochs & the Turners?

the papers might be dying in the US, but you can't get on public transport in this country without being surrounded by folks reading the Financial Review, The Australian & the local broadsheet, The Courier Mail. They seem to be alive and well over here.

[Bengal]

And GE and Disney and so on. Most of the broadcast media has a bigger owner. Sure Turner owns CNN and Murdoch owns Fox. I'm not sure how "family" those companies are.

No family in GE or Disney though.

Newspapers are a little different. You have Gannett which owns quite a bit and Hearst who owns quite a few newspapers, television stations and channels and magizines and online sites. Not sure how "family" they are anymore either.

I've never looked at stats but I have wondered if the papers are doing better business overseas than here in the states. Here, nobody reads anymore. But it seems like in Australia they are doing well.

[lerxstcat]

I appreciate the local TV station's weather staff when we are under severe weather watches and warnings. That's apt to happen any time of year here; our tornado season of February-June blends right in with hurricane season which is June through November.

When they come on the air to say a tornado has touched down and could be in my area in 10 minutes, I appreciate that heads-up. If Asian gang bangers are shooting up a part of town, I like to know to avoid that area. I can't get local weather bulletins or news stories from The Weather Channel or CNN.