This is Ted’s fault

Since 1966, I have been a news junkie mainlining news. I may finally be overdosing. It’s not the news drug that’s killing me, it’s the contaminated supply from cable TV.

Cable news reporting on the omicron variant of the coronavirus is a case in point. Rigorous testing and reporting in South Africa uncovered the variant. Still, all we know at this point is anecdotal. The variant must be studied to determine its actual impact on the global pandemic. That will take time. The cable “news” circus only gives passing acknowledgement to that fact. The circus fills the news cycle with repetitive, endless in-house analyses and heartfelt opinions. If I hear one more purported cable reporter tell an interviewee “talk to us about …” instead of asking an actual penetrating question, I’m going to start throwing things at my set. Enough!

I blame Ted Turner. When he launched CNN in 1980, I was ecstatic. Live news. Real reporters accountable to real editors, all over the planet any time of day or night. It didn’t last long.

Turner quickly discovered he couldn’t fund a legitimate 24-hour global news network. Bureaus closed. Reporting was borrowed from local broadcast and print media. Soon, more-affordable “experts” in Atlanta replaced reporters in far-flung news rooms. CNN went from 24-hour news to 24-hour news-based talk shows. Other cable networks followed suit. Legitimate news doesn’t stand a chance in this contaminated environment. It’s Ted’s fault.

Thank God there’s still a few real newspapers around.

Jim Wavada

Spokane