Pet Peeves on Cable News Networks

Do you have any pet peeves you see on Cable News Networks. I have a few:

1. When the host asks a pressing, news question and the guest replies with a rambling introduction: "Good morning, Joy, it's so good to be here, and congratulations on your new show! I'm so happy for you, you deserve it! and by the way, good luck to those Mets!"

There's only a little time for the answer and the guest just wasted a lot of it with dull information.

2. This one is specific regarding the new Kasie Hunt show, "Way Too Early." She asks viewers to email her about why they are up so early in the morning and she reads the answers on the air: " I have to feed my cat." "I'm catching a bus." "There's laundry to do."

This is not a scintillating aspect of the show, and besides, Kasie goes on at 5:00 am. Most average people are up at this time getting ready for work! Hunt acts like she's still in college and getting out of bed before 11:00 am is new for her.

3. When a guest is not really qualified to speak on an important subject. Perhaps there's a panel of guests ranging from eminent doctors, researchers, scientists, and Nobel Prize winners. However, one of the guests is a "branding expert," whatever that is. This guest is inevitably disheveled and out of his depth.

How about you? What are your pet peeves?

 

Comprehensive lack of depth and honesty? yeah, that's annoying...

 

When every story, no matter how mundane, is treated as BREAKING NEWS.

 

I expect professional journalists on major news channels to be extremely articulate. When they respond to a press conference or an event, I want to think, "I wish I had said that," or, "I would love to be able to talk like that."

Instead, sometimes journalists scoff or laugh at a press statement, or say, "Enough said." No, it's not "enough said." Please respond with a scathing diatribe. Really confront this situation and nail it. One journalist, Don Lemon on CNN, once said, "I don't know what to say."

If you don't know what to say, why are you on tv?

 

I don't like when a host asks a guest a question, then after a few seconds of response, starts talking over them, usually reiterating verbosity the host has made over and over again. Guests should be given an opportunity fully state their points without interruption.

 

Just the name FOX "News" irritates me no end (because all it is is political talk shows practically the whole day [IINM, MSNBC is the same way on the left]).

 

It’s more brain washing + infomercial than news. And I am referring to more than one offender.

 

Remarkable point!

 

I have to keep reminding myself that watching any of the news is completely optional and not necessary for me to live my life. That always makes me feel better.

 

That is very true-- The Five on FOX "News" is the main irritant for me there, and when that comes on, I simply go in another room.

 

My biggest pet peeve is that what used to be called "news" is now reported with a political agenda. ALL the networks in the US are owned by big corporations who slant their coverage to suit their agendas.

 

Let's face it - there is no more NEWS.

 

The few times I have caught it, Wolf Blitzer always begins his show with "BREAKING NEWS", no matter if the information he is presenting is hours old.

 

So all reporting is a waste of time?
Funny how there was no “fake news” until about 5 years ago.

 

This is true, and it's not only Wolf Blitzer. Everytime a new host begins his or her CNN show, the intro is "BREAKING NEWS."

 

Aside from the aforementioned "Breaking News" which, inevitably, takes up the bottom third of the screen with inanities like, "Breaking News: Presidential Election Continues in Many States"? MSNBC has even taken to wrapping commercials in a small window of graphics that include that crap and the time and logo in the corner of the screen. They still don't drop the audio level of loud commercials, like that one with the whistling pop song.. But, what about--

Bumping a guest right up to the end of the show:

There's 3 minutes left, the news show host asks the guest a long, detailed, 6-part question about their philosophy of urban alienation, how it fits into the current political regime both locally and abroad, what steps would the guest take to quell future conflict and bring together people of diverse and opposing creeds and nationality, and just what, if anything, should we be doing differently to encourage future generations to just try and get along..?

Which leaves :45 seconds on the clock and, as soon as the guest, who stayed up all night from Vienna to take the guest spot, starts to pick apart that dissertation, the talking head host interrupts with, "Yeah. Uh-huh. But, we.. Yeah we.. Well, no go ahead! No, we just have to do our best? So, what you're saying is that times are tough, huh? Thank you, Chancellor! That does it for this hour. Hink Dunkley is next with The Dunk Report. Good evening, Dunk!"

 

There's a solution to all this: Read the news, turn the TV off.

 

Misspelled words on the text banner (or whatever it’s called) at the bottom of the screen. Is it really so hard to find employees who can spell?

 

in some respects NPR is the worst. For instance, The Nina Totenberg-Ruth Bader Ginsberg best buds revelation was just the tip of a massive submerged iceberg. They do have a 'Public Editor' but what the hell does that mean? what is wrong with 'ombudsman' in this era of 'advocacy journalism'

And their attitude: 'Oops? Was that wrong? We're so sorry. Thanks for pointing what would be apparent anyone with an ounce of common sense and ethical integrity. We'll just keep taking your money - thank you!- and doing the same thing."

 

Lower-third Chyron. So much in TV is "crashed" to air and many things like that fall through the cracks. I even saw a "Les Mooves" graphic make it to air on the CBS Evening News.


Dan

 

Ah, read it! Like the print version of The New York Times where 38/50 pages are full-color, full page ads. Or, the websites, even with adblockers and overlay killers enabled, constantly hiding content (worse on portable devices) behind paywalls, pop-ups or pop-under ads hawking everything from dodgy vitamin supplements to medi-crap to the ubiquitous car ads.

This is what passes for "news" on our local tv site (and they work this stuff into newscasts, too), and sections like this take up the most screen real estate and only get updated about every 3-4 weeks:


Live reports kinda go like:
"There was a fire today just off Highway 501. WMBF's news team took these live shots from the studio's Ford Escape Hybrid. This happened just between Tanger Outlets and Bojangles while both were gearing up for holiday crowds and special deals. Firefighters were able to deal with the fire and shoppers won't have to worry about access to parking areas."

 

This guy actually has more credibility these days than alleged journalists

 

I understand the reason why she took the early gig was because of her one year old kid. Can't blame her. As for folks being up @ 5AM,when I worked 8AMish-never. When I worked 2-10PM-never. When I worked 6AM, I was near out the door,so never again. As for the low-key stuff-early AM is not supposed to be hard hitting journalism, Keep it light as the folks watching may soon be going into rush hour madness.. Exactly what average do you point to,as I've never had a job like that? I'm retired and I never had a gig like that. It wasn't that long ago that in the northeast,local news went on the air pre-network AM shows if there was a snow storm. A big deal. Nowadays,they start 4-4:30 regularly. Why? There is more money for local news till the networks gobble up the dough. A cable outfit,affiliated with a network,is already working around the clock. Turning on the cameras,feeding the teleprompter and putting a reader in a chair is still cost effective with ad time bought. Often,they are replaying the previous day's stories-another cheap way to fill time & sell ads.

 

You can't turn off the TV or switch the channel?

 

Yes, that is very curious, isn't it.