A proposal for a decent news network

Some pointers, really:

• 24 hours of news every day means very little if viewers have to wade through hours of banter to get a taste of the day's news.


• The responsibility of news networks is to educate viewers. Viewers want to know what is happening in the world and society, and they want to see what is changing and what is staying the same. But they don't have the resources to document these. This is where news networks come in.


• Car crashes, rape convictions, kidnappings, small-scale natural disasters, and so forth do not matter outside of local news. There are more important things at work—in society, in politics, in culture, in economics, in world affairs, in science, etc. etc.


• Viewers don't want their information chewed for them. It is acceptable to feature a guest that is an expert in a particular field and to ask them for analysis related to that field, but Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and other news "personalities" do not serve to educate viewers. They truncate and simplify the wider conversation far more than they inform their audiences.

So here's my proposal. News networks should splinter into smaller networks with distinct functions. These include:

• Biased news: "Here's what I think. If you disagree with anything, you are wrong. -- 'We won Peabody awards!'" Pre-chewed food with no claims of impartiality. Maddox for a wider audience.


• The E! Channel: Celebrity gossip, fashion, and brainlessness.


• ShOcK nEwS!: "Disaster pornography." Bank robberies, murder and rape cases, car chases, that sort of thing. Tragedy for shock value. Jerry Springer but more real.


• Decent news: that informs the populace about issues pertinent to their communities, society, and the world at large. It provides the reader with facts, not opinions, that are sampled as fairly as possible. This is the fourth estate. It serves democracy.


• Specialized news (also decent): The weather channel, sports news, local news coverage, etc.

5/3 update:

One thing that I've noticed that The Daily Show does especially well, but "real" news networks seldom do at all, is pointing out blatantly contradictory statements on the parts of politicians and other figures. A "Decent news" network would have a deep memory and call out, say, our President and Vice President when they outright lie or change positions. Then, perhaps, the 24-hour news networks would air these before and after statements incessantly and really hound them on important issues rather than, for instance, droning on about Barack Obama's bowling ineptitude.






1. It's Funny How Funny Just the Facts Can Be