Skip to main content

Dull day in the newsroom

Ratings drives content.  Ratings needs eyeballs.  Ratings means revenue.  Revenue means jobs.  So sell the sizzle not the steak.

These and many such observations about media and business of news reporting in general are now de rigueur.

Established and new comer agencies in the market with a mission to deliver facts keep churning meaningless drivel and sizzle it with eye catching headlines to make the reader turn the page.

What amounts to eye catching also comes across as retarded in many cases - the rush to get crap into print or online bypasses common sense edits.

Here are some examples or close seconds of what was recently published -

  • Horrific site of plane crash (what a surprise - when a large object with people on board 'crashes' into hard surface from a height of 40,000 feet are they expecting a mind soothing landscape to compete with the Buchard Gardens?)
  • So and so had an internal reproductive organ removed and may remove other parts in days to come  (PS - got tired of removing clothes and have the media go gaga about it so now moving on to other parts)
  • A man is now a woman
  • Extra Extra - we are confused - a woman is now a man
  • Biography of a successful dead man now released - we never read the one released a few months ago or forgot so another was released (hope it finally tells all the truth for all the truth seekers out there)
  • What the local butcher will not tell you.  (Do I want to know about his sex life or other ailments?)
  • How to attain moksha through minimalism (sermon delivered while wearing 50 carat diamond encrusted designer sunglasses)
  • How to live on $1.50 a day - this from a celeb appearing morose but wearing approximately $1,500 worth of makeup and $5,000 worth of clothing while trying to figure out what the heck is a $1.50?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Of chocolates

I like chocolates. Godiva Dark with Almonds - not sure of the naked woman on the horse to be the icon of some choice cocoa based products but tastes good. Started in Belgium but now owned by some Turks. Cadburys - Fruit and Nut Milk Bars - awesome combination of dried fruit pieces along with a medley of nuts makes your toungue dance - started by a Brit now owen by Kraft USA. Lindt Hazelnut spheres - made by a Swiss confectioner are divine balls that melt in your mouth with a lingering nutty taste Ghirardelli Milk Crisp Squares - crunchy and light these milk squares are easy on the palate but pack some serious calories - all good I say! Originally founded by an Italian who moved around till he landed in SF Bay today also owned by the Swiss Lindt empire.
Post a Comment
Read more

Columbia SC

 The Palmetto state.  One of the confederate kinds. History dating couple centuries back.  We visited the capital yet again this time to take in the SC State Museum. Occupying the former digs (literally remodeled) of an erstwhile cotton mill this structure is an amazing piece of reimagination.  Four floors of excitement for kids and young at heart alike. Located on the shores of the Congaree River formed when the Broad meets up with the Saluda River, this edifice is approx. 60 years old.  The front of the building has a more modern planetarium that was added about a decade ago.  The museum itself has different areas of interest segregated on each of its four floors. The first floor has gift shop and a diorama of some of the local geography including the swamps and the state beaches with audio guides to help understand what fauna thrives locally. The second floor is all about natural history and showcases animal kingdom that may have survived on this latitud...
Post a Comment
Read more

But What If We're Wrong?

I attempted to read this book by author Chuck Klosterman backward to forward but it started hurting my brain so I decided to stop and do it like any other publication in the English language.  Start from page 1 and move to the right. Witty, caustic and thought provoking this is a book you want to read if you believe that the status quo might, just might be wrong. At times bordering on being contrarian about most things around us it tries to zero in on the notion of what makes anything believable and certain in our minds.  The fact that there is a fact itself is ironic.  Something analogous to the idea that you can never predict the future because there is no future. Many books and movies have tried to play on this concept - best that I recollect (I think I am) was 'The Truman Show'.  This book by Klosterman attempts to provoke the reader to at least contemplate that what they think they know may be wrong. He uses examples like concept of gravity, and how it ...
2 comments
Read more