Is anyone else noticing that about 1/2 of local Boston TV news is..

[MarkCharles]

devoted to Super-Bowl Patriots coverage in the last week? And the two Boston newspapers seem to have less space to cover what's happening worldwide and locally.

We're learning a lot about the city of Indianapolis, how friendly it is, what the local bars are: IS THIS "NEWS"?

I don't mind having football fans enjoying their game, and their championship team, but hey, there are other things happening in the world and in the state these days. And, aside from the rally yesterday at Foxboro, there's really no real "news" about the Pats until next Sunday.

I'd really like to have a half hour news cast spend less than 10-15 minutes reporting the latest thing to come out of the mouths of the players and coaches. Anyone else feel my "pain" about it?

[Lint Head]

1. Sports and reality shows are more important to the corporately owned media because it keeps

the realities of how we are being royally screwed by them out of the news.

[VWolf]

3. I guess the question is:

Is it airing because people are eating it up?

or

Are people eating it up simply because it's airing?

I tend to think it's the latter, probably because I cling to the hope that the general populace is smarter than they let on.

[MarkCharles]

4. Thanks to those who posted and questioned like I do!

I live in the neighboring state where Republican legislators are trying to defeat the rights of gays to marry, trying to introduce new restrictions upon teachers, and Massachusetts is next to a state where an atheist 16 year old is being harassed because she challenged the rights of religious bigots to post their religion in her public school and she won!

None of this is being covered. Meanwhile, in Maine, two states away, the Governor is exhibiting classic signs of profound paranoia bordering on schizophrenia.

No reports of this in the news, just stuff about the Patriots.

Will you join me in sending an email to the news directors of major Boston TV stations asking them to actually carry the news and not some more capitalist baloney about Tom what's his name?

If you will do that, just send me a personal message and I'll supply the right names and emails of the respective Boston TV and newspaper news directors, and the stories they refuse to cover.

[MADem]

5. I don't like "Patriots All Access" fucking up MY access to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!

It's one of those stupid "chew the fat" shows, where guys who are too overweight, too old, and too flabby to play football make grunting sounds while they critique the last game or two.

With all of the stations on the TV, I wish that shit would be shunted off to NESN-Extra-Special +10 or whatever, and leave me to my damn "Answer in the form of a question" amusement.

I am not "anti" football, FWIW. I can watch it--I am not an avid fan, but I'll enjoy the odd game on TV. I'll watch the Superbowl, laugh at the commercials, eat greasy bad-for-us food, and have a few drinks too. I do think the media--not just here, anywhere where Sports Is King and the community has winning teams--can go over-the-top on the sports worship, especially since the average parent doesn't have a hope in hell of being able to get OR afford tickets to a Pats or Red Sox game--they are just priced out of the range of ordinary people. I think there's way too much money in sports, but that's not going to change on my say-so.

I know a guy who flew his kid from Manchester NH to Baltimore to see the Red Sox. The tickets were cheap, and he flew on one of those Southwest bargain fares. He said it was still cheaper than anything he could get at Fenway.

So yeah--back to your point, and pardon my free association--I do feel your pain, and concur with your observations.