popular thinking

THE PROBLEM WITH MORNING TV "NEWS," NATIONAL EDITION: So I've been waking up earlier this summer, which means I've caught snippets of Today, and each snippet makes me more confused than ever about the direction of the morning newscasts. Ken Auletta wrote an interesting piece in The New Yorker earlier this month on "Dawn Patrol," and answers some follow-up questions here (the full story didn't run online, so no linky link). But the philosophy of Today seems to be all over the map, literally and figuratively.

On Tuesday, Katie stopped the proceedings for "breaking news" -- Sean Combs then stepped into the frame to announce on live TV that he was dropping the P from his P. Diddy nickname, as if we cared, and then answered multiple questions from Katie about the moniker maneuver (what's even more maddening is that the media followed this non-story with actual stories on the wire!!!). That's why if I write a story about Combs, I always go with the flow and call him Sean "Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Diddy" Combs. It's the only way to make any sense out of his nonsense. Anyhow.

Then, on Wednesday, Today operated live from Iraq with special interviews from an Army base (the choice news segment showed how everyone in Iraq is living without power, water and other essentials, then cut back to the base's mess hall, where there was electricity, water, food and A/C aplenty -- and they wonder why Iraqis and other Middle East residents might not like us?!).

This morning, Katie interviewed the parents of a teen who recently died from something called "the choking game," which should make any teen stop right there, and although she seemed quite sincere, you could tell at the end that she still had to pull the ol' TV newscast trick of figuring out a segue to Al Roker and the weather. Such is the morning snooze. Ugh. Not that I have any bright ideas at the moment on how to fix the mess that is TV news. But I'm willing to think about it and get back to you.