News At The Speed Of Internet

On Twitter itself I saw someone complain Fox News and CNN had dropped the ball. I guess he was expecting them to have crews standing by in Tallahassee in case anything ever happened at midnight.

There’s a new boss in breaking news.

CNN is on with news from Tallahassee. People have been shot in the FSU library.

CNN didn’t break this story. I first got the news on Twitter. That’s becoming more rule than exception.

FSUShootingInternal640Florida State’s original tweet about a DANGEROUS SITUATION caught fire! News like this explodes through social media. It becomes unavoidable.

Meanwhile, it’s still the traditional news sources we turn to once we get the tipoff. That’s why the TV went on. But their resources pale in comparison to crowd sourcing. Right now it’s social media CNN is relying on!

I saw someone complain Fox News and CNN had dropped the ball. I guess he was expecting them to have crews standing by in Tallahassee in case anything ever happened at midnight.

There’s a new boss in breaking news.

Tonight In Ferguson

The “fog of battle” is in evidence here. What was reported as tear gas is now corrected to smoke.

CNNx

I am watching a potential riot unfold live on television, or whatever it’s called when you watch CNN on a laptop. Do I really want technology to bring me this close? It is raw and real and happening too fast.

The “fog of battle” is in evidence here. What was reported as tear gas is now corrected to smoke&#185.

I am sympathetic to the family of Michael Brown and the people of Ferguson. I’m at a loss to explain how breaking tonight’s curfew does anyone any good? All the points that can be made have been made.

The young man will not come back. Justice will take a long time working its way through a system that’s inconsistent. The lives of those involved will never be the same.

The people of Ferguson and many others have legitimate complaints.

&#185 – An hour later it changes back to tear gas, reported as confirmed by police.

Malaysian Airlines News And Speculation At CNN

Malaysia_Airlines_Boeing_777-2H6ER;_9M-MRG@ZRH;07.08.1998_(4794758296)I have to hand it to CNN. There’s no story I’m interested in as much as the Malaysian Airlines disappearance. They’re pouring everything they’ve got on it. That’s the good news.

The bad news is, with little new info or new info fragments, CNN has turned to speculating. I’ve heard Wolf Blitzer try and pin the rumors on others, but when it’s your megaphone that’s giving voice to these rumors you inherit responsibility. You can’t just attribute it away.

If I was in charge of CNN what would I do? I don’t know. The audience gains from all this wall-to-wall theory porn are appealing. CNN needs to stay profitable. So much temptation.

This is very similar to the steps that moved local TV news away from difficult-to-report issue stories to the crime/anecdote stories which now dominate.

CNN is seeing short term gain, but what is the long term price?

The Bourdain Disagreement

anthony-bourdain-no-reservationsThere’s a minor disagreement in the Fox house. I think Anthony Bourdain’s show on CNN, “No Reservations,” “Parts Unknown,” is close to amazing. That is not a unanimous opinion.

Masterfully written. Nicely shot. He goes places I dream of, but know I’ll never see.

Tonight’s show is paused. He’s in Congo.

Helaine’s opinion of Bourdain is exactly opposite mine.

The show has Anthony traveling the world, marveling at local (often rudimentary) cuisine. It is the ultimate armchair travelogue. He flies in rickety third world airplanes, travels rivers in rickety boats, drives over rutted and potholed roads while eating food prepared with minimal consideration of hygiene.

There’s no doubt this is Anthony’s show. He will often address the camera directly. Lots of ‘me roll.’

Back to the writing. It’s the most important element in televised storytelling.

Guys like Bourdain and Alton Brown understand how to write prose which will be spoken. Bourdain’s script is crafted in his spoken voice. The narration is embedded deep within the fabric of the story–no less a player than the photography itself.

I’d like to think I write like that. Maybe not. I try.

The word is CNN will air more documentary type shows, like Bourdain’s, in 2014. From Deadline.com:

“The goal for the next six months, is that we need more shows and less newscasts,” Zucker said in a recent interview about “massive changes” he’s got planned for the network, adding that he wants CNN to attract “viewers who are watching places like Discovery and History and Nat Geo and A&E.”

That’s good new and bad news. Among the bad, every hour of doc programming is an hour less of news. CNN is already news challenged too many hours of the day.

The good news is shows like Bourdain’s are worthwhile endeavors. We know so little of the world around us.

Anchored Off Half Moon Cay

A cruise is for relaxing–and we have relaxed. Still, a lot has gone on since yesterday afternoon when I last posted.

After dinner we headed to the theater for the evening’s show. We were worried about getting good seats so we showed up early which meant we were there in time for the end of BINGO. Call me a snobbish member of the media elite, but why do people play this game? Adding to the ‘fun’ was a cruise staff member who brought insincerity to new heights and who Helaine said looked like Robin Leach’s illegitimate son in ill fitting clothes. Too many buffets!

A new set of comedians came on board in Nassau. The first guy was billed as “Physical Comedian Howard Mincone,” so I figured Carrot Top or Gallagher (or, more likely Gallagher II). Not funny! At points embarrassingly not funny. I actually felt bad for this guy. We would have left, but we were close enough to the stage to be seen.

He was followed by Frank Del Pizzo. The name was familiar though his act was not. This was standard fare stand-up and he was pretty good. We’ll go back for the “R” rated show tomorrow night. Please–tell Howard not to come!

God–I hope Howard doesn’t Google his name from the ship.

After the show we wandered to the casino and, again, I sat down for poker. My pre-cruise expectation was the table would be full of poker neophytes–easy pickings. BINGO! Last night I quickly won $160 from a $50 stake playing $1/$2 no limit. I was called down and paid off twice when reasonable players would have folded.

There’s no guarantee the pickings will be as easy tonight or that I didn’t confuse good luck with good play. We’ll see.

We woke up this morning anchored off a beautiful island. Carnival calls it Half Moon Cay–but that’s not it’s real name. Carnival got this island when it bought Holland America. The Half Moon was Henry Hudson’s ship of exploration. Half Moon Cay is just too convenient.

We watched the island’s little tenders bob up and down as they tied up to a hatchway off Deck 3. It was breezy and cool as we set out. Some people were already returning to get sweatshirts. Helaine headed to the room to get ours, but they were never needed.

The Sun was bright. The water was mild. The beach was a pale powder with no rocks nor shells. The ocean threw waves just a few inches tall.

There were lots of people on the beach, but also plenty of lounge chairs. I took some photos and video then joined Helaine at the edge of the crowd. I laid on my back and quickly fell asleep. This is the life!

We headed back to the ship for some lunch, though by the smell of things there was a barbeque somewhere on the beach.

I continue to be impressed by this cruise. Our tickets were reasonably priced. The value is high. We have not been bored. There’s always something to do or see or eat!

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In our cabin we have access to CNN and CNN International. It quickly becomes obvious CNN is CNN Dumb compared to CNN International. Are Americans really that stupid that we need newscasts dilluted with sensationalized stories of crime and style?

The world is important. We miss so much.

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I am reading emails, but responding…. not until on shore. The Internet is priced like gold!

News Porn

This afternoon, as I got out of bed, MSNBC, CNN Headline News and Fox were all carrying live helicopter coverage of a car chase on I-5 north of Los Angeles. I like to call this kind of stuff ‘news porn.’

The driver of the 1997 Saturn was wanted for suspicion of DUI (or so said the on-screen graphics). The car was doing the speed limit and staying within the lines on the Interstate.

I have no idea how this story ended. Time took its toll and I had to leave.

The story itself is so unimportant that there’s no real need to update America on what transpired. Which, of course begs the question – why cover it at all?

It all comes down to the definition of news. News used to mainly be about concepts and ideas. It is now much more event and celebrity oriented.

Events make for more compelling than nearly anything else… at least while the event’s in progress. Concepts are much more difficult a story to put on TV.

Events and celebrities are ‘low hanging fruit’ when you’re running a newsroom… even one that’s covering the entire nation.

I am sure this unimportant story was a much bigger draw than anything else these three networks could have chosen to run. It will be interesting to see how CNN’s main channel (running CNN International at this time) did in the ratings versus the other three.

I’ll admit, I couldn’t turn away.

How can I chastise these networks for what they ran when it was my own viewing choice? It’s easy to be critical. It’s much more difficult to be angry while they’re being practical.

Continue reading “News Porn”