Some News on the News

On April 29, I watched the 6:30 News on ABC. I must admit that I was surprised to find that it was actually quite informative. While much of the 20 minute program, approximately 10 went to commercials, was spent on less important stories, they still did address some big stories.

Of course, the first 7 minutes were dedicated solely to the recent swine flu outbreak. After this they covered the falling GDP of America, President Obama’s first 100 days, and how the economic crisis has drastically lowered traffic. They ended it all with a story about a town out in the Midwest that has a surplus of jobs due to an oil well that was recently found.

These stories were definitely not ordered in importance, and the amount of time spent covering them according to importance either. They brought in experts, and showed clips of politicians when presenting the swine flu story, and they dedicated the most time, almost half the program, to it. While it is important, and we should know that there could be an epidemic soon is it really more important than President Obama’s first 100 days, which only received a quick 3 part summary? What about the falling GDP? Only one person had died in America from the swine flu, it can’t be that big of a deal. Also, the stories about the Midwestern town and traffic were most definitely there only for entertainment, they weren’t true news and nothing was there to report on.