The Nightly News

Now I'm not going to take the time in this blog post to explain how your favorite news program is pushing a very specific agenda as set by their parent corporations. Nor will I make a big deal about how the Delaware Valley area news programs are entirely racist in their reporting of crime; having heard testimonials of people witnessing a crime committed by a white person that was ignored so that a news corespondent could run to the crime scene of a black person. The point of this posting is the blatant product placement in most nightly new programs.

With the holidays approaching, be aware of "consumer reports" about toys and less childish products being promoted or criticized by these stations. Keep in mind, they are owned by a parent company and want to promote the products of other companies within the parent company's family. NBC is one good example, owned by its parent GE and sistered by health care, aviation and transportation companies. If these companies have a good relationship with certain manufacturers pr brands, expect to see those products or services promoted. If not, as in the Chinese toy recall of early 2009 that led to significant American revenue loss, expect business partners to get slammed in the news by your favorite news anchor.

The product of sport is also heavily promoted. Even major religions don't have a place on the news as a regular segment, but American football and other sports do have a time slot devoted just to them. Ever wonder why 10-15 minutes of your news broadcast is filled with information about whatever sport is seasonally big? It's a 10-15 minute commercial for your local team to get fans excited so that their love of the game will grow and they will spend dollars on endorsed products and team logo emblazoned goods. The conversation about American football becoming America's fourth major religion possibly in front of Christianity, Judaism and Islam is a topic for another time, but only sports receive such devotion by the news.

Also, isn't it ironic how the news advertises heavily throughout the evening about some interesting story coming up in that evening's broadcast only to depress its viewers with a laundry list of crime and murder that has taken place that day or just recently. The juice of the program is of course the weather and that one or two stories advertised earlier, which when finally played after all the tripe reveal that there was no more substance to the story than what was already seen on the earlier ad.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've largely stopped watching the news altogether. I just find it to be uninformative and propagandist. Don't even get me started on the swine flu or the new health recommendations for women. In the words of Adam Curry, "Nothing to see here. Oooh look at that." The news to me is just a distraction from what is really happening in this country and abroad. Watch with discretion and at your own intellectual risk.