What network news SHOULD be doing (instead of "infotainment")

In breaking news today, we're told President Obama just signed into law a bill banning "insider trading" by Congress members. Yahoo. This is nothing but a great thing. I just hope it's complete and there are no loopholes in it for corporations to get through. It needs to be noted, though, that this was almost immediately created due to a CBS News, "60 Minutes" program that higlighted the abuses some weeks ago, this Winter. This tells us two things: 1) that CBS and the networks and media still really DO have power they can--and should--exercise and 2) that the networks--CBS, ABC and NBC, at least, can and should exercise their reporting and this power more and do more and better reporting so the "Fourth Estate" reigns in the abuses of our government and representatives. The thing is, if they did, they'd also benefit from higher ratings, too. A win/win/win for all, besides the important function they should play. Link to original story: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-signs-insider-trading-ban-lawmakers-160857583.html

Moving on

We are in such a huge era of change, financially and technologically and people just have little idea, it seems, about what's going on and where we're headed.

I've felt that one of the great things that's happening to us, concerning the environment, is the elimination of newspapers.

Delivering news daily on sheets of new, virgin paper simply makes no good sense. It's antiquated and destructive.

We should get our news online as soon as possible and then power all those computers with solar energy from photovoltaic cells and do away with the power companies.

That's fodder for another entry.

What's really unfortunate about eliminating newspapers is that it does away with the Fourth Estate.

Hell, we almost don't have anyone now, to inform us of what our government is doing nationally and internationally.

With all that this, Bush Administration has gotten away with in these last 8 years, it seems more likely than ever that governments could and would, possibly, in nightmarish form, get away with whatever they want since no one would be there, in strength, to report their actions and activities.

Would the Nixon administration have fallen even as late as it did if not for 2 reporters at the Washington Post, doing research and digging and persevering?

The conclusion of almost everyone is no.

Besides the somewhat "universal experience" and information that we all get as a culture, this is a very real issue and problem for us, culturally, nationally.

I think the consensus is, too, that, even with a proliferation of blogs, they don't--and won't--have the power of The New York Times or other media.

And sure, maybe this will change and some other reporting structure will come into being but it seems the collapse of a great deal of print journalism is going to fail before these other organizations come into being.

In short order, things are changing and going to change a great deal more.

The "man on the street" isn't too much aware of what's going on, too, I believe.


More on change soon...