My husband is not interested in politics. Oh, he'll pay attention around October- especially on local issues- to ready himself to vote. He is the only person I know who understands all the referendum on the ballot and how to vote for what he feels will benefit the community. And his own interests. Of course.
An avid boater, his main source of information is The Weather Channel. As a retired firefighter, right now he is concerned about California. He wants to know what's going on.
So, when I woke up this morning, he was fuming in front of the TV.
"I thought this was a news channel" he said. The television showed MSNBC.
And he flicked to CNN. (I blocked FOX) "Where's the news?"
"What are you looking for?" I asked, amazed that he was watching Morning Joe. "California is on fire, and they give this story less than two minutes every half hour. I know, I timed them last account."
Why the interest in the wildfires in California? My husband is a retired firefighter. Almost fifteen years ago, my community was hit with a wildfire that almost wiped out a town. Although not personally involved in fighting that fire, my husband spent that time manning several local fire houses to ensure the safety of the community-to be ready for any house fires and emergencies that occur almost every day.
He takes these fires personally.
"Here it is again," he called me. "Watch. Same shots." (Fire blazing on a tree. Plane dropping fire retardant material. More fire burning on a hill. Smoke billowing in the distance.)"And that was 'breaking news'!"
"Where are the maps? Where is the fire? How many firefighters are battling the blaze?" How about an expert on climate conditions, what the firefighters are facing? Damn!"
That was said as my husband left the room. Cheney was on as we heard for the umpteenth time his take on the torture investigation. And I agreed with my husband.
If Breaking News is going to be used as a forefront for a story, at least fifteen minutes could be spent covering all angles. As my husband pointed out, they could switch to the LA news desk. The reporters there know what's going on.
"I would watch that," he told me. "I would much rather watch a full hour of reports from the field about this fire than sit and listen to people I don't know talk about things I don't care about. This isn't news. This is cheap talk."
To be fair, I told him that MSNBC advertises as "The place for politics."
"Bull! It's a news channel. They are suppose to be reporting the news, now, as it happens. Not talk over and over again about what happened two days ago. Man, they couldn't get enough of Michael Jackson, but a serious story like a bankrupted state fighting a devestating fire gets less than five minutes an hour, and the same update- well, that's just wrong!"
He left the room, went outside to "work on his boat". That's how he stays sane. Me, I was left staring at the TV, knowing he was right. Television news has become an opinion platform with no room for actual news. Even my local evening news will rush through the major stories of the day, sometimes covering five stories in the first five minutes. Rushed. No background on the story, just get the facts and move on. Then, after the first commercial break, the rest of the hour is spent talking about human interest stories, sports (a full ten minutes) and the weather.
I don't believe we are an informed nation anymore. Fox lies, CNN evades, and MSNBC debates the stories. Any information I receive I get from the internet. But how many of our population have access to or the time to look for what they need to know? My husband doesn't.
I have to go now so I can look up the California wildfires on the internet. Maybe link up to the local news reports and call my husband in so he can have the information he wants.
Solidarity with firefighters.
Please keep them in your prayers.