All the news that's fit +
Apr. 16th, 2007 11:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
susandennisI have two news outlets send me Breaking news as emails. Neither really abuse this privilege. I kind of agree with what they consider breaking news. One is the local CBS affiliate (well, these folks do get a little two excited about Anna Nicole Smith, but otherwise, they're cool) and the other is one of our daily papers. I maybe get one breaking story a day, sometimes none.
From 8 a.m. when my radio (NPR) goes off automatically until 5 p.m. when I turn on the TV news, these emails (plus whatever lands on my LJ friends page) is really it for me for the news.
This morning, the emails started coming in about the shootings in Virginia. First there was one dead and then 22 and now 31. Ugh. I'll wait to get the details tonight. I could turn on the TV now but I'm sure just now they are in the 'we don't know anything but we're going to bring that nothing to you live for the foreseeable future. So just stay tuned and listen to use chew our cud.' phase. I suspect The View was preempted. I wouldn't mind if they had real details to report on breaking news but I'm sure they will just preempt because they can.
The other big breaking news in my inbox is that the Joint Operating Agreement between our newspapers has been settled - at least for the next 10 years.
There is huge value and power added to any town with two major daily newspapers. Seattle is one of the few left. Neither is perfect - far from it - and if we only had one, it would probably be better than either of these, but... I'm very old school about competing news outlets. I honestly believe it is critical to the life of a city. We are rich in news outlets here. Five local TV stations, 2 local NPR stations, a bunch of other radio stations, 3 or 4 vibrant weeklies... Heck we even have a website that covers all the media in the Northwest! It means we get the same story 8 ways to Sunday on most days but it also provides us viable protection from censorship and news and power manipulation.
I majored in communications in college. It did not start out as a religious calling. The English department threw me out and the Communications department - pre Woodward and Bernstein - they didn't even call it journalism then - were screaming for anything that had had a pulse and a vagina ... As luck would have it, I had both!
But, I did get sucked in and went on to start life as a newspaper reporter. It was a horrible way to make a living but it was a huge education that I wouldn't trade for anything.
From 8 a.m. when my radio (NPR) goes off automatically until 5 p.m. when I turn on the TV news, these emails (plus whatever lands on my LJ friends page) is really it for me for the news.
This morning, the emails started coming in about the shootings in Virginia. First there was one dead and then 22 and now 31. Ugh. I'll wait to get the details tonight. I could turn on the TV now but I'm sure just now they are in the 'we don't know anything but we're going to bring that nothing to you live for the foreseeable future. So just stay tuned and listen to use chew our cud.' phase. I suspect The View was preempted. I wouldn't mind if they had real details to report on breaking news but I'm sure they will just preempt because they can.
The other big breaking news in my inbox is that the Joint Operating Agreement between our newspapers has been settled - at least for the next 10 years.
There is huge value and power added to any town with two major daily newspapers. Seattle is one of the few left. Neither is perfect - far from it - and if we only had one, it would probably be better than either of these, but... I'm very old school about competing news outlets. I honestly believe it is critical to the life of a city. We are rich in news outlets here. Five local TV stations, 2 local NPR stations, a bunch of other radio stations, 3 or 4 vibrant weeklies... Heck we even have a website that covers all the media in the Northwest! It means we get the same story 8 ways to Sunday on most days but it also provides us viable protection from censorship and news and power manipulation.
I majored in communications in college. It did not start out as a religious calling. The English department threw me out and the Communications department - pre Woodward and Bernstein - they didn't even call it journalism then - were screaming for anything that had had a pulse and a vagina ... As luck would have it, I had both!
But, I did get sucked in and went on to start life as a newspaper reporter. It was a horrible way to make a living but it was a huge education that I wouldn't trade for anything.
