Just the facts

By Joe Rector

I spend too much time watching the “news.” I watch those stations on the cable to catch up on what I’ve missed while mowing the yard, pulling weeds, or taking a dip in the pool. Yes, I admit that whenever I sit on the couch and activate the recliner button, the chances are high that I’ll go into snooze mood.

Some might consider me a cable news aficionado.  While I would never make such a claim, I could make some suggestions that will make their programs better. The first thing I’d have hosts to do is sit down. I’d like to know who the out-of-touch executive that came up with this bonehead idea is. Viewers never hear the news because they’re too busy trying to find the anchor.  The very name for this lead reporter suggests that he or she put a backside in one place.

At the same time, stations need to hold on to their anchors. I’ve dialed in to a show, only to discover the person I watch has been replaced. Playing musical anchors does not instill great confidence in the station or its reporting.

Next, I’d tell them to stop repeating “Breaking New” and then reporting the same story from the 6:00 a.m. program. Yes, mention of the story is fine, but drop the drama. Speaking of drama, please drop the special, morbid music that plays after every break and that puts the entire audience into fits of depression. I’m old enough to remember the Kennedy assassination and funeral. Nothing has ever affected me in such a sad way, so any other story with music pales in comparison.

The time for hundreds of panels should be called. Cable news rattles on all day, so stations must find fillers for those hours. Few panelists have credibility like that of John Meachum. Most of the guests are former politicians or television hosts. Viewers want authoritative folks to inform them, not someone whose opinion is more correct than theirs. Several of the hosts have huge followings; others seem to be on the set merely to show how inclusive the channel can be. This is the news we’re talking about, and the best individuals should be holding spots at the desks.

The other night, I tuned in to a national news telecast. In half an hour, I heard the biggest stories of the day. If I wanted more discussion of a topic, I could then check out cable news. That short broadcast helped me to recall the great of television journalism: Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Rather, Reynolds, Smith, and Brokaw. Those individuals were reporters and anchors. I can still see Walter Cronkite’s face as he reported the death of President Kennedy and as Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon. He reported the news and rarely let his emotions get in the way. When he did, however, viewers knew how grave or spectacular an event was. We could count on his stories being factual, and whether we liked it or not, “that’s the way it was!”

I long for those days of simplistic, truthful news. I hope the cable news networks can get back to it without all the cute tricks and sets and presentations. As another famous television character used to say, “Just give me the facts”