A house fire in NC. A barn fire in KY. These are breaking news stories on MSNBC, this morning,

[Fridays Child]

Now, a bank robbery in CT. Must not be a damned thing happening in Iraq, today.

Seriously, why is local news elevated to the national level and given "breaking news" status?

[onethatcares]

1. a barn fire in Kentucky!!!!!!! was britney injured or drunk?

wow, glad we got that story out of the way. Anything going on about FISA?

[elizfeelinggreat]

2. Anything they can find

to scare you a little bit or a lot they'll put it on.

Nothing informative just raise your level of terror stuff.
It's why I get my news on the internet now.

[Eurobabe]

3. Don't forget the Utility workers stuck on a pole in Delco PA

I hope they get down safe, but WTF :wtf:

This is news that the whole country needs to be concerned with??

In the meantime, the Euro hit an all-time high and the US economy is having a meltdown. Darth and * are quiet, so they must be scheming something evil.

[Fridays Child]

10. That's right. I saw that one, too.

It's not national news. Is it an intentional distraction?

[groovedaddy]

4. Funny that they haven't noticed the WHOLE DAMN COUNTRY

falling apart around us!

[supernova]

5. Glorified affiliate

rather than a national news organization.

:eyes:

[ThomWV]

6. and no word on IMMUNITY for Telecoms. The most important thing on the national plate.

This is Constitutional, not the stuff of everyday politics or dealing with corrupt markets.

[Indenturedebtor]

7. In other news I have a tummy ache.

Seriously, do you think these sacks of crap in the press ever feel less than good about their shabby journalism? I often imagine them going through college spouting off about their high minded ideals and how the media is one of the pillars of Democracy etc.

What happens to these people? Why don't they strike or something? Pitiful.

[tomreedtoon]

8. Same reason it's on your local news. Pretty pictures.

You catch a house on fire, or a perp walk, you've got a leading story. Where you can't show what's going on, where you have to rely on all those boring words, or when you can't show pictures of war or soldiers' coffins, you haven't got a hot story.

And that's the word from the news consultants, who tell all TV stations what makes people watch.

[Fridays Child]

11. Something about bleeding and leading?

The fact that the corporate media report these things so that they can get the scoop, in case blood is eventually shed, says a lot about the both the media and the country.

[tomreedtoon]

12. Jerry Springer said it better.

At one time he was doing commentary for a Chicago TV station. This was during perhaps the last period when journalism in that town had any integrity; the station's two anchors quit because of Springer's commentaries, and his job there ended soon after. But he left behind an important statement.

"Television news is weather, sports, and who got shot last night."

You might consider it cynicism. As a person who's worked in TV since 1976, I can tell you this has become more than the truth; it is practically the law.

[alfredo]

9. It's hard to report on a country when it it too dangerous to field reporters.

A barn fire in Kentucky could be big news if it is a horse barn. Not only money and horses will be lost, but carefully preserved genetic lines of old breeds or bloodlines of champions could go up in smoke.