We at the catfish household again subscribe to cable after a 24-month-plus hiatus (since the last season of The Wire wrapped, probably.)
Now, we're not against all MSM news. Print news organizations still do some remarkable legwork given the brutal morale they're operating under, with ever-shrinking budgets and staffs. Alternative newsweeklies are the under-appreciated investigative shops of today.
Off the printed page NPR and yes, the PBS Newshour provide informative, substantive reports (do I sound like an old fogey? I like Jim Lehrer's show, so be it.)
But after watching CNN and MSNBC yesterday and today we see the same blowhards sitting around making projections, as if they haven't moved an inch since we cancelled Comcast in 2005. Has nothing changed?
Who watches this crap? Right now it's Mrs. Bubbles Greenspan, Russert, David Gregory and that bearded guy from Hotline sitting at some blue table in a magically-lit newsroom looking into their crystal balls. "If Obama wins NH he COULD win it all" said one. No shit! "The Wednesday morning headline will be: Independents play decisive role in New Hampshire" Mrs. Greenspan just said. Brilliant insight - one only a seasoned newswoman like yourself could provide
If only they were sitting on a sofa sipping from bud cans, it would be more honest.
Reporters are supposed to report! Not predict!
Is there NO footage from New Hampshire today that you could air? Is there NO new information coming in today? Is it a slow news day?
And while I love white people -- some have said I am one -- American does not look like this panel.
OK I get it - this is not a news show, it's analysis. So is the Lou Dobbs show. And the Chris Matthews show. And large segments of Anderson Cooper.
But - shouldn't the MSM leave the bloviating to bloggers?