Whatever happened to good local news?

[ripvanwinkle]

I don't watch the local news anymore. Just PBS news now if I watch news at all. Our news has been dumbed down to the lowest stupidest peoples IQ and I'm offended. It just doesn't have the punch it used to have. Too much fluff. Very little "hard" news anymore. I grew up with the Chet Huntly and David Brinkly giving me the latest world news.

My local news anchors were Richard Ross, Ivan Smith, Tom McCall. Real newsmen. What I consider the "Golden Age" of local news. Pre 1980. Not these pretty puff people we have today.

So much of the so called news is just fluff filler pieces. They give you a little taste and then say to go to their web page for more of the story. I'd watch CNN if they didn't have the talking heads for 20 minutes analyzing every bit of the story. I loved CNN when it first came on. Straight news from around the world. No analysis, nothing but news.

I don't care about 10 ways on how to turn off your lights to save money, ways to keep your bathroom fresh, which toliet paper to buy, when to throw out rotted food in the fridge (Is it moldy? Does it smell?) How long can we keep milk after the sell by date. Really? Do the taste test stupid. If it's lumpy or taste sour it's bad!! That's what the internet is for.

Sad. The older I get, the more republican I get.

[Tennesseer]

Local news is, well, local.  

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Our local news coverage (for the channel I watch it on), is really good. (We have 3 local stations).

They only do any extra "fluff" stories, or silly stuff on the morning show (5:30 am to 9 am) or noon news hour.

The 5 and 6 pm broadcasts and late night (11 pm) news broadcasts stay pretty focused on the news - and the reporting & newscasters are very professional in their presentation.

[sesfw]

Our news stations have changed to 'laugh on cue' like Good Morning America. I don't like it, drives me nuts.

So I'm watching a lot of re-runs and game shows.  And we have a huge collection of DVDs and VHS.

[ripvanwinkle]

Oct 10, 2014 22:10:51 GMT -5 sesfw said:

Our news stations have changed to 'laugh on cue' like Good Morning America. I don't like it, drives me nuts.

So I'm watching a lot of re-runs and game shows.  And we have a huge collection of DVDs and VHS.

YES!! That's what I mean. Too much laughing and chit chat. They want to be your friend. Take the coffee mugs on the set. Like Sgt Friday said on Dragnet, "Just the facts maam".

[toomuchreality]

I don't watch the news.  (I count on you guys to fill me in! LOL)

[ZaireinHD]

Oct 10, 2014 21:50:42 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Local news is, well, local.  

good point
maybe nothing is going on locally!

awh hell - move to the city!
we have lots of shit going on!

[wyouser]

News?..News?  you live somewhere where stuff really happens? Local news...wow!  Our news reporting is entering its seasonal transition from watching paint dry (summer news) to watching haircuts (indoor winter news)....."live update at 11:00!!

[gooddecisions]

I have never enjoyed the local news. Too much "what's up next" and not enough content- with the exception of the weather report, which is way too long. I don't need to see 12 different views of the radar maps. Just tell me if I'll need an umbrella or sweater and move on. With the internet I don't need the weather report at all, which is why I usually end up turning it off because I'm bored to tears waiting for them to report actual news. And, in my city none of them are attractive and never have been. I realize how shallow that sounds, but I go to other cities and the local news anchors are all strikingly beautiful.

[Blonde Granny]

I don't watch the local news. First because the people are so bad, second is that I don't give a whit what happens here.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

And, in my city none of them are attractive and never have been. I realize how shallow that sounds, but I go to other cities and the local news anchors are all strikingly beautiful.

And I don't give a rat's rear what the anchors/reporters look like - as long as they show professionalism, and do concise reporting without all the goofy banter between each other, that's all I care about.

The silliness and fluff is fine & dandy for the morning shows, but for the 6 o'clock news, I want to get the actual news - and that's how it is here.


.

[ZaireinHD]

New York City live action local news for the New York area always with a reporter on the scene live!
LOL

Breaking news!
this just in someone is getting robbed around the corner
this just in shoot out robbery in progress
this just in flipped truck crashed car and dude on motorcycle in critical condition
this just in sink hole swallows empty school bus on the way to pick up kids
this just in man arrested and release for up skirting pictures
this just in counterfeit ring busted and cops take 1 mill off the top

pfft it's busy over here!
 

[Tennesseer]

I can only watch local news snippets of Miss Molly's Ballet School For Toddlers dance recitals for so long. 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Miss Molly will be so disappointed to hear that.

And Zaire, it sounds like your area isn't exactly "family friendly" or safe. I'll pass on living in an area that has that kind of reporting, TYVM. I don't need to live in a crime infested war-zone.


.

[Ryan]

Local news in Chicago:

1) Shooting on the south side.
2) Big news story of day (ebola)
3) Weather  
4) Sports
5) Silly story to make you laugh

[truthbound]

All real news ended the minute it became ratings driven.

[gooddecisions]

I had to reread your original post 3 times. Are you saying that your local news used to give you the world news and doesn't anymore? Isn't that what the 6:30 news is for? There is no shortage of "hard" news in my area, but the reporting is still pretty lean. Every week, there is a shooting, huge traffic accident, fire and so on. Just last week, there were bomb threats at one of the community colleges- which shut it down, a stabbing at a high school, a teacher charged with inappropriate relations with a student, a huge fire that displaced 9 people and the remains of a body found. I personally wouldn't mind more "fluff" pieces about the local festivals and such. There is at least one awesome festival every weekend they could report on.

[NancysSummerSip]

I like the fact that our half-dozen local stations do carry a lot of local news (and by local, I mean to the tri-county area I live in). I hate the sensationalizing of everything (like when there's a hurricane or tropical storm forming 500 miles away, and they present this like it's time to get out the extra water and Spaghetti-Os right now.)

What I hate is the hard, sprayed-on look that so many news anchors have. I realize it's because of high-definition TV, but their faces are so caked up, you'd need an hour and a chisel to get all the makeup off.

[The Captain]

Our area has a lot of dirty/political things going on right now (I know, surprise, surprise).

1.  Local council member with financial interest in/ties to low income housing development that was approved in an unpublished city council meeting without a public feedback time period given.

2.  Proposed power plant development with (again surprise surprise) several local politicians having personal economic interests in the project.

3.  Local village president accused of misappropriation of funds.  Shockingly - the financial records are in such disarray that they are claiming it's all just sloppy bookkeeping.

4.  Local sherrif accused of using his influence to get DUI charges against son dropped.

None of this is covered in the local news (which devotes an entire section to the local HS football team/games).  You have to find out about it by reading the political campaigns (and self-verifying) or going to local government meetings.

But hey, we know how much the local team won by last week.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 21, 2014 3:19:13 GMT -5 truthbound said:

All real news ended the minute it became ratings driven.

NIelson began measuring and reporting on what TV audiences watched in 1950. Does that mean real news ended in 1950?

CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF INNOVATION

[truthbound]

No it ended a little later when the FCC started allowing the news to air commercials 'aka' report stories for cash.

[ZaireinHD]

Oct 20, 2014 11:06:03 GMT -5 gooddecisions said:

And, in my city none of them are attractive and never have been. I realize how shallow that sounds, but I go to other cities and the local news anchors are all strikingly beautiful.

there was for a few years, a few year well back ago, that the women most of them in the morning on WPIX were more like high end models!!
now there were 3 networks that I would flip to WPIX / ABC / CBS were the ladies are attractive
but stopped because the other people the guys are annoying
I just stay with ABC and wait for Amy freeze!

and that Jill on CBS was in Playboy a long time ago!