What's The Point?

All right... i'm not defending the guy for what he's
said in the past or whatever agenda he's been pushing
for however long.

but i just caught something on the Eleven O'Clock News

(which, to those of you that grew up before the advent of
CableTV know, was the end-all and be-all of your TV news influence.
It's portrayed in capital letters, for those among us of younger
generations, because it was the place to get the news of the day.
For more explanation and clarity on the subject, i suggest you
view - or re-view - one of the finest films ever to be projected to
the silver screen... "Anchorman : The Legend of Ron Burgundy,"
starring the inimitable Will Ferrell, to gain an understanding
of the relative importance of the Eleven O'Clock News in its hey
day - or the Six O'Clock News, for you early birds.)

that i wanted to share with you...

So, here it is in April of 2006 and one of the stories to break
the lineup is that Rush Limbaugh has relapsed in his effort
to quit his penchant for over-the-counter pain killers - or
whatever it is he's supposedly addicted to. Don't care.

The point is... the man hasn't had any influence on politics
since his 'recovery' period began. So, why the unnecessary
flogging of character? Why is his setback a newsworthy
piece - in as much as news goes? Answer? It's not.

But it "makes great copy" - which may or may not be a
true journalistic catch phrase... so they air the segment,
anyhow.

I'm not promoting the guy or his beliefs, thoughts, or
whatever. I just don't see the need to 'spotlight' the
guy's personal trek.

Okay - let's do an introspective and dig deep into the
personal lives of the 'experts' that disect Hollywood
and the local news anchors (and writers, producers,
et cetera) that seem to thrive on schadenfreude and
depend on it for ratings. Who's first?

Oh, that's right.. it's a different set of rules of judgement,
because you're all here to report the news. yep, forgot that.

Look, personally, I think Rush is a douche. But the
guy doesn't deserve a non-productive bit on the news
just to show that he's havin' some troubles... Imagine
if you flicked on the news at night and some head was
spouting personal details of your life. you, my friend,
would be pissed.

The point here? (yeh... i'm gettin' to it)
The News should be news... not gossip.
There are plenty of places to pick up gossip.
The Eleven O'Clock News shouldn't be one of them.