[dukey]

[flash width=425 height=344]http://www.youtube.com/v/o25T0BspJ7c&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

[Denny]

When he mentioned how news has become so slanted toward the gossip and fluff type stuff, it rings a real chord with me. Back just 30 years ago, we just did not see the trivia on TV, it seemed to stay in the paper tabloids.

Today, it just seems there are so many "ET" type shows, and for the life of me, I don't see why they why they seem to get the ratings they do. I think most of the gossip shows have more time spent on commercials than on content, and I think even their content is managed to promote certain personalities. It likley has to do with money being perceived by the news media as more important to them than conveying information.

I recall it being said years go that TV was becoming a vast wasteland.

[Minvaren]

We need a Virginia Slims ad here...

Thanks for the link!

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Denny', 'W')hen he mentioned how news has become so slanted toward the gossip and fluff type stuff, it rings a real chord with me. Back just 30 years ago, we just did not see the trivia on TV, it seemed to stay in the paper tabloids.

Today, it just seems there are so many "ET" type shows, and for the life of me, I don't see why they why they seem to get the ratings they do. I think most of the gossip shows have more time spent on commercials than on content, and I think even their content is managed to promote certain personalities. It likley has to do with money being perceived by the news media as more important to them than conveying information.

I recall it being said years go that TV was becoming a vast wasteland.

[Plantagenet]

Dan Rather is a loon who was kicked off CBS news for broadcasting phony news stories based on fraudulent evidence.

[GreyGhost]

A big part of the problem is concentration of media ownership.

For example, NewsCorp, the company that owns Fox Networks and 20th Century Fox, also owns Sky Satellite TV, MySpace, HarperCollins, more than 175 newspapers and many other media. All under the control of one man, Rupert Murdoch.

There should be more regulation of media market share, to ensure that no one individual or company can influence the opinions of so many people.

Check out this neat chart of the major media alliances:
Media ownerships