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Breaking News

This Moratorium is actually not mine but I wish it was.  Dr. Mark Elrod of Harding University, whose blog I browse from time to time, has a VERY good one.  You can read about it here.  The point of the article is how tiresome it is to hear “Breaking News!” and then it be followed by things such as these that Dr. Elrod points out:

  • A court hearing concerning the corpse of any deceased Playboy Playmate;
  • The shaving of any pseudo-celebrity’s head;
  • A slow-speed chase involving a police helicopter;
  • The arraignment of a serial killer;
  • An announcement that any celebrity, athlete or politician is going into rehab;
  • Any combination of the above.

    • Excellent.  We need a moratorium on this pronto! 

    Funny thing is that last night when I got home the wife was listening to the radio and they did a breaking news update on Anna Nicole.  I referenced this moratorium and her response was “Well, on shows like Extra or ET, things like this ARE breaking news!”.   

    When some future Edward Gibbon writes about the history of the decline and fall of the American Empire I am sure he will reference shows as Extra and ET as being the prime culprits!

    This entry was posted on February 22, 2007 at 11:19 am and is filed under Mark Elrod, Media, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    2 Responses to “Breaking News”

    1. Marty Says:
      February 22, 2007 at 2:05 pm | Reply

      When I first moved to Charlotte, I didn’t work, then I worked a PT job…which left me time at home with the TV on. I was disturbed by the news breaking into the shows to report (typically) something like a housefire. That’s only breaking news if it’s your house, or maybe your neighbor’s house…

      In my class last week, we talked about the ‘evolution’ (devolution?) of journalism. Interesting how they all knew who Anna was, but none of them could pick the president of Iran out of a lineup. They can now.

    2. Roland Says:
      February 22, 2007 at 2:27 pm | Reply

      I am shocked by how much I actually know about pop culture and then I try to name some political figures and cannot.

      I need to read more!

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