[Infowarrior] - Breaking News: Television is Broken!

[Richard Forno]

Breaking News: Television is Broken!

Richard Forno

First published on 2007-09-10.

(c) 2007 by author. Permission granted to reproduce with appropriate credit.

Three years ago in my book "Weapons of Mass Delusion" I commented on the sad
state of the American news media and described how it failed to provide
usable information to the public despite the news industry's oft-proclaimed
committment to the "public good." That hasn't changed much -- but now I'd
like to expand my thoughts on the American television media to include
television programming in a broader sense. However, to appreciate fully the
comments in this article, you must share two fundamental beliefs: first,
that contemporary commercial television is primarily a venue for advertising
or product placement, and that the competitive commercial television
industry is based on profits and shareholder value as a function, and that
any other considerations -- including the "public good" -- are subordinate
to those desires. As you might expect, my observations and comments below
both recognize and challenge these beliefs -- and yes, this indeed is a
long-overdue infowarrior.org rant.

While many readers know that generally I avoid most commercial television,
having spent the last week recovering from a cold sprawled on my living room
couch, I had an opportunity to remind myself again why most commercial
television has turned me off. Having said that, let's examine some of the
reasons why I feel modern commercial television sucks and why quality
program delivery apparently doesn't matter anymore.

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http://infowarrior.org/articles/cable-tv-rant.html