News 10 (Not) Now

I don't have cable TV in my apartment, and one reason is that I can't deal with the way many TV media outlets present the news. As I was flipping through channels just moments ago, I was reminded of that.

I stumbled upon Syracuse's News 10 Now program. Mind you, this was about 12:35 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It's not exactly primetime. Just as I switched the channel onto the program, a graphic came up in front of me that read, "Decision 2008." I thought that maybe I would see a segment that would talk about the issues.

I remained optimistic when the anchor came on talking about how the economy is at the forefront of conversations and speeches as Sens. McCain and Obama campaigned in swing states earlier in the day. But once the story went to footage of the candidates walking up to the podium, smiling for supporters, all hope was lost. The piece may have lasted only 30 seconds altogether. My main problem besides the short length was that we saw the candidates but never heard them. Instead, the anchor continued a voiceover about mindless fluff. Obama said this about McCain and vice versa. Let the candidates speak for themselves!

It's no secret that the amount of speaking time the candidates get in news packages has dwindled. Instead of getting minutes each, on some stations, the candidates now don't even get their voices heard unless the entire speech or debate is broadcast. They may be just repeating what we already know, but I'd rather listen to both of them than listen to some anchor who doesn't even know the issues.

Now I know why I'm watching the MLB playoffs and not the nightly news.