Web versus MSM: Part I

No doubt, my upcoming insight regarding changing my news sources has kept you waiting, sleeplessly tossing and turning until now. Or not.

After watching local, national and cable news sources almost non-stop Friday night through Monday morning many things struck me:

1. News reporters fail to give any context anymore.
   
1. Where was Geraldo? What street at what time and why did he choose that location? Who knows?
2. The pictures behind the newsreaders had no dates, no times, no locations, no facts whatsoever. Was this three days ago? Are these pictures from this morning?
   
2. Newscasters blab with high pitch and intense inflection and say next to nothing or at the other extreme they blab with high pitch and intense inflection and give their personal opinions. One info babe on MSNBC looked so angry while doing her "special report" she practically spit the words. Have all attempts at even a neutral delivery been thrown out the window?
3. Forget slanted delivery. Depending on the station you watched, entirely different news was covered.
1. CNN and Headline news featured recurring rants on how President Bush was a neanderthal, black-people hater (a tad toned down but not much). Chaos, debris and inept white people were featured along with a foaming-at-the-mouth Mayor Nagin and a shaken Governor. The take home message? The government allowed chaos that would never been allowed if rich white people were the victims.
   
2. Fox went all Justice Renquist all the time on Saturday and Sunday and threw a little Hurricane Katrina in on the side. Who made that decision? Can we please discuss Judge Roberts at length once the inquisition, I mean confirmation hearings are held? Evidently no. The take home message? At least we saw troops, some police trying to restore order and food being served to people. Weren't the people at the Superdome starving? That's what I got from CNN. On the other hand, at Fox, I got to see Geraldo overtalk the anchor when he had no more clue about what was going on than the people at home. "Oh my G_d, Oh my G_d!" was his helpful contribution.
4. Finally, after having a steady diet of first-hand accounts on weblogs, the MSM felt like eating a Big Mac after enjoying a nice filet mignon--I could survive on the diet but not get much nutrition.
1. On a blog I could find out how exact streets and neighborhoods fared.
2. On a blog, I could read exact FULL quotes and make my own interpretation.
3. On a blog, I could see interesting pictures and know what the heck I was looking at. (They're called captions.)
4. On a blog, I could read all sides of the response critique and come to my own conclusion.
5. With blogs, I don't have to listen to anyone's babbling, condescending tone, barely hidden contempt, righteous outrage and all the other inane yacking.
6. With a blog, I didn't have to see Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson's angry, stupid mugs. Hallalujuah! I could read, though, real pastor's sermons, real pastors service, real pastors leadership. Will someone in the MSM interview a black pastor who actually pastors and serves their people? They are all over Houston working right now. Oooops! They're working--maybe too busy to showboat on TV.
7. With blogs, there is so much concise information and ease of verification (yeah Google!) that I don't have to sit there in front of the tube mulling over whether this anchor is full of you-know-what or not. I can go look and find out in 30 seconds. And if it's crap, I can respond!

Bottom line? After hours of watching in horror, not just the heart-rending images of suffering but at the choices the major networks made in regard to their coverage, I turned to a much more edifying show: Stinking Rich or something like that.

I got to watch a bunch of self-indulgent rich kids in their twenties try to ride horses and do a cattle drive. This was the best that TV offered that night. At least it was entertaining, sort of.

Thankfully, I'm back in blogland where real news is being covered moment-to-moment, one fact, one clearly stated opinion at a time. People proclaim their agendas and proclaim their opinions and showcase their knowledge.

MSM cannot hold a candle to it. If I were those guys, I'd be afraid, very afraid.