Mr. T and Gaza
There can be little doubt that on television, the most important time of day for news and information is early morning. That's one reason why there's so much speculation that ABC's Charlie Gibson is more valuable to the network on "Good Morning America" than as a potential 6:30 p.m. successor to the late Peter Jennings. USA Today story on anchor succession strategies
Having said that, the networks' morning "news" shows are such a frustrating mishmash of headlines, info-tainment and corporate synergy that I long ago gave up watching "Today" in favor of CNN's "American Morning." (That program is certainly not perfect. But the recent changes in which former Boston TV newsman Miles O'Brien replaced Bill Hemmer and the wisecracking Jack Cafferty was moved to the afternoon show with Wolf Blitzer have sobered things up a bit).
This morning, eager for any new developments in the dramatic Israeli deadline-day evacuation of Gaza, I was forced over to the Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" because my Comcast cable was on the fritz and allowing me to view only a handful of channels. Fox & Friends
When I turned to the "Fair & Balanced" nework, I struck paydirt with a riveting live report from inside the home of a family of settlers in the process of being evicted. While Israeli soldiers listened impassively, this group of distraught settlers mourned, cried, argued, held hands and chanted prayers. (Whatever your position on the Gaza pullout, it was intense human drama that -- for the moment -- superseded politics and took viewers deep inside a big geopolitical story.)
So what does "Fox & Friends" cut to a few minutes after that poignant coverage? A ridiculous segment in which an aging Mr. T, essentially dressed in an American flag, stood outside Fox's New York studio giggling and handing out free socks to a swelling street crowd. (Mr. T seems to have lost considerable muscle mass and some gray matter as well in recent years.) Review Mr. T's illustrious career here
It was the silliest kind of fluffy morning show huckersterism imaginable. And coming on the heels of the incredible scene in Gaza, it may explain why this nation's attention span for global news that does not directly involve dead Americans seems to be at an all-time low.
Having said that, the networks' morning "news" shows are such a frustrating mishmash of headlines, info-tainment and corporate synergy that I long ago gave up watching "Today" in favor of CNN's "American Morning." (That program is certainly not perfect. But the recent changes in which former Boston TV newsman Miles O'Brien replaced Bill Hemmer and the wisecracking Jack Cafferty was moved to the afternoon show with Wolf Blitzer have sobered things up a bit).
This morning, eager for any new developments in the dramatic Israeli deadline-day evacuation of Gaza, I was forced over to the Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" because my Comcast cable was on the fritz and allowing me to view only a handful of channels. Fox & Friends
When I turned to the "Fair & Balanced" nework, I struck paydirt with a riveting live report from inside the home of a family of settlers in the process of being evicted. While Israeli soldiers listened impassively, this group of distraught settlers mourned, cried, argued, held hands and chanted prayers. (Whatever your position on the Gaza pullout, it was intense human drama that -- for the moment -- superseded politics and took viewers deep inside a big geopolitical story.)
So what does "Fox & Friends" cut to a few minutes after that poignant coverage? A ridiculous segment in which an aging Mr. T, essentially dressed in an American flag, stood outside Fox's New York studio giggling and handing out free socks to a swelling street crowd. (Mr. T seems to have lost considerable muscle mass and some gray matter as well in recent years.) Review Mr. T's illustrious career here
It was the silliest kind of fluffy morning show huckersterism imaginable. And coming on the heels of the incredible scene in Gaza, it may explain why this nation's attention span for global news that does not directly involve dead Americans seems to be at an all-time low.
4 Comments:
Sadly, I missed the Mr. T moment. Oddly enough, I don't mind weird over-the-top hucksterism as much as I mind run-of-the-mill hucksterism like Survivor or Bachelor updates that you get on the networks.
As someone who's disposed to watching the morning news shows, I keep wondering if any network is going to break from the stale soft-news mold and try delivering a quick summary of national and world events, with business, culture, and sports coverage thrown in. I guess that's too upscale for the free-TV audience. I'd be happy with something like NY1, where they read the city's newspaper headlines. Great idea.
Fox 25 actually is interesting in its attempt up formatting, graphic design, feel, etc., but I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to VB go off about the gays and the Democrats.
Try watching BBC America in the morning. They have updated live news at 7 and 8, which is far better than the surreal crap offered up by most of the domestic networks and local stations.
Mark
superseded
My problems with Good Morning America and others like it can be summed up in one example: One morning I turned on GMA right at 7. Their lead news story: Prince Charles had proposed to his girlfriend. 2nd story: North Korea admitted they had nuclear weapons.
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