TV News Review

People who watch TV News usually watch it every day. Nothing new there. I remember my parents watching CBS Nightly News every day after dinner. It was a routine. We kids were to be quiet or play in another room during the news. News was serious business.

It’s surprising how many businesses have CNN playing in the background for their customers or their employees. If you watch, people will stop by for a few minutes to watch and catch up with what’s going on in the world.

I’ve also noticed a lot of people seem to keep one of the cable news networks on in the background during the day while they are going about their regular routines. The can keep an eye on the world and still do their chores.

I sometimes wonder if it’s good for us to have 24 hour access to news events. The constant coverage with so few facts during a major story can create stress for the viewers. Granted, it keeps people riveted to the screen but is it good for us? I confess that when I feel myself becoming stressed from the lack of facts, I just turn the TV off for a while. I still want to be informed. But when they’ve reported all they have to report, all that’s left is speculation and opinion. Experts are often wrong and their speculation seems to add to the stress. That’s the time for a long walk.

A few months ago I happened to be watching coverage of an airliner whose landing gear was stuck. The coverage went on for at least an hour. Experts said over and over that landing the plane was something the pilots are trained for and shouldn’t be a problem. Yet, I was anxious and tied to the TV. I wanted to see that plane land safely. Not so very long ago, it would only have been news if the plane hadn’t landed safely. I guess the news it just Reality TV at it’s best.