I am so outraged:

[PCIntern]

this is truly why I belong and participate here at "the" DU for 7 years now - I don't know what I would do without the community. The following is emblematic of what is so very wrong with our society here: the 'richest' and 'most prosperous' country 'the world has ever seen'.

If the MSM were smart, which they're not, they would switch over to legitimate, competent, 24/7 coverage of this catastrophe and other related and unrelated news stories and stop showing Lockup-equivalent, regular prime-time programming on the networks, Baba Wawa specials-redux, The View and the like, and actually educate the American people as to what is going on around the world in order to prepare them for whatever comes this way: whether it be a Japanese nuclear-cloud plume, the nearly unfathomable tragedy in Japan, a complete change-over in political orientation in the Middle East, or whatever decides it's going to occur this week.

Of course, they won't do this: there's not enough money in it, and furthermore, it is unrealistic to expect that most Americans would watch one of, say 5 or 6 networks, day and night, as many of us here do, in order to be (re)educated (or reedumacated as someone once said).

To show how dumb they want us to be: for those who may have missed it, Bill Nye the Science Guy was on CNN last night with that 'dope' Don Lemon and his sidekick (who pronounces his name so fast that it is unintelligible - not that that really matters). Nye was logically explaining what happens in a meltdown in a really interesting manner, not too technical - all someone of average (IQ = 100) intelligence would have to do is STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN. He was having a good discussion with the meteorologist and it was, given the level of news these days, terrific, But Lemon cut Nye off, made fun of him in a really condescending, smarmy way, and went to the same human interest story he'd been milking for, oh, say 10 hours. Oh and cut to a commercial break.

Did I mention that he'd cut him off before so that we could see a helicopter flying somewhere after having plucked someone from a roof? At about 2 miles distance? Anything and everything to keep competence and real science from being disseminated. Perhaps, Mr. Lemon, tiny devils arise from the Dominion of Hades to cause the meltdown, and are fighting equally tiny angels in the containment room. Whoever wins will depend upon God's Plan.

The whole thing is just untenable. I can't believe that I sit around and await the equivalent of Cronkite, or Jennings, or Frank McGee, who would actually listen and participate with the scientists during, say the lunar missions, allowing them to explain, in layman's terms, WTF was going on. It is just despicable that it apparently pays to keep Americans stupid and uninterested in anything but the most emotional aspects of a situation in order to maintain an economic status quo.

[Fumesucker]

1. As someone who has to explain technical things to non technical people regularly..

The majority of people I know would rather watch the helicopter from two miles away than listen to a technical explanation, it's like pulling teeth to get people to listen to anything technical.

[russspeakeasy]

29. or listening to Charlie Sheen explain his uber intelligence.

[Lastactiongyro]

50. On al jazeera live They had 3 Nuclear energy experts (one a muslim woman professor )

The Experts were talking live from, Vienna, Cairo and England. The newscaster asked thoughtful, insightful questions. Made for fascinating internet streaming. Afterward was a documentary about how China Mentally ill fare. I only watch American media if I want to get the equivalent of Jerry Springer for my dollop of News.

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[ejpoeta]

2. i went to twitter to see if nye was on there to thank him so he at least

feels like he did a good thing and you should see the posts. i can understand why they would have nye on there.... he is good at explaining things to kids, and a lot of viewers are intellectually immature let's say. so he could explain it in terms even I could understand. yet these people are making comments as if he is just some kid show host. he is an actual scientist isn't he? with actual brains.... i bet he is more qualified than a lot of the other people they put on there to explain anything... their 'experts'/ I am so glad I don't watch that crap anymore. Gee, i wonder why our country is cratering with science and math compared to other countries.

[Plucketeer]

28. I saw this too.

CNN fixates on horror and gore. Having Bill Nye was very obviously NOT what the talking head wanted to deal with. And I felt embarrassed for Nye as well. I hope he got paid for being an "ornament" for CNNs "coverage" :dunce:

[chillspike]

3. I saw that last night too

But I guess I missed the part where Lemon made fun of Bill Nye. It is refreshing to get any real science on tv, though, even if it is a little.

[boobooday]

4. Covering news, and providing real information costs money

Exploiting the incarcerated, the idle rich and the desperate is cheap.

[madmax]

5. You speak for me.

Great rant! Thank you.

[Sal Minella]

6. Had expectations of seeing some news footage last night

when I went to the laundromat. (I haven't had TV for twenty years and only miss it at times like these.)

Madison. I hoped to see some footage of crowds and speakers in Madison.
Japan. I expected to see people being interviewed on how meltdown works and what people exposed to radiation are supposed to do.

The young guy watching the TV had it on Fox, where chameleon-eyed Huckabee was emo-ing his way through a birthday tribute to Ronald Reagan, which had been delayed from his birthday because of news from Libya, we were informed.

Thank goodness there was nothing going on in the world yesterday worthy of postponing it again.

I said to the kid, "If I have to listen to that I'm going to break out in a rash," and he turned it down low enough so I couldn't hear it.

I don't have a schizoid break often but that did it.

They want us ignorant, pregnant, and starving.

[Moody]

16. I want to believe this is a joke, but I sadly realize it isn't. UGH

[Sal Minella]

21. Not a joke, no. I wish it were too.

He was carrying a book bag screened with the logo of a local protestant church, which maybe he bought at a garage sale for all I know.

[alp227]

40. Reagan's birthday was a month ago before these events.

so either you're confusing things or Huckabee just loves wanking over good ol' American heroes like Reagan.

[Sal Minella]

43. The announcer said the program was displaced from its original

scheduled time slot because of news breaking in Libya. Maybe this was a re-run.

Please do not expect me to make any sense out of anything Fox "News" does.

I was just grateful the guy turned it down enough so I didn't go into a homicidal rage.

[fahqueue]

7. bravo

great rant.....I don't watch TV anymore (because of this), but David Simon (Wire / Treme) has a lot of great interviews out there where he explains the state of journalism/media and the rationale behind it (and there is no good answers to what we've become) and it consequently is a pretty good indictment of us, as a society, on the whole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ox35KbshlU
(this goes into much greater detail than the Moyers piece from 2008 as well as his Congressional testimony)

[dougolat]

35. Really good view of how and why journalism has gone off the rails...

...but hopeful, too, because the good stuff can still shine thru.
And, as I've frequently told my Congress critters: De-funding public media would be criminally irresponsible, since the public airwaves are to be managed for the public benefit, and commercial interest have their own motives, tending toward censorship, slant, and spin, (the extreme case being Fox successfully defending lies, in court).
Perhaps it shouldn't be looked at as a public expenditure, but as rent from those who use our airwaves less altruistically.
anyway, thanks for that link, (but I hesitate to use your name!)

[Hannah Bell]

8. kr

[PCIntern]

12. Thank you...

I'm truly appreciative.

[Hannah Bell]

15. i agree totally with your op.

did you think i would unrec something i agreed with out of spite?

[border_town]

9. CNN

Has been doing a great job with coverage. Let's give them props when they deserve it.

[michaz]

10. Are the local channels covering the protest in WI? n/t

[bananas]

11. It's part of the Republican War on Science. nt

[liberal N proud]

13. M$M is nothing more than a propaganda machine

The illusion of multiple companies independently reporting what they want the public to believe to be news and fact when in reality, they are all working from the same script. It is all intended to keep the public in the dark about the real events in the US and around the world.

We only hear from the M$M what the right wing wants us to hear.

[ReggieVeggie]

14. VIDEO LINK but not full video

http://www.charter.net/video/play/470941?playlist=1&pos=3

This video covers most of what Nye says but not the end of the segment

[Vinca]

17. Yesterday, after the explosion happened at the plant, crack MSNBC reporter Alex Witt

asked a guest if there was radiation in the giant plume spewing from the containment building . . . or whatever was left of it. I was begging him to say, "No Alex, it's a release of bluebirds and they're all whistling Justin Bieber songs." But, on the plus side, at least it wasn't "Lock Down."

[PCIntern]

18. Using 'crack' and 'Alex Witt" in the same sentence

put me off my breakfast.

[Vinca]

22. LOL - please accept my apology.

[rurallib]

19. great money making opportunity for CNN - wouldn't want to screw it up

which is why we have bubble headed blonds and good looking men who probably can't spell their own names.
Repubs want everything to be privatized and profit driven. Ergo they play is to the lowest common fool.
No more Cronkites, Eric Severides or Huntley & Brinkleys.

[2banon]

39. nooze is all about Eye Candy.. period. n/t

[Starry Messenger]

20. k&r

[Enthusiast]

23. I share your outrage.

On this, and other issues, of course. CNN is resorting to Fox News tactics (making fun of the messenger) to promote their corporate message -nuclear power is as safe as mother's milk.

American media deeply sucks.

[raouldukelives]

25. The pro-corporate advertising doesn't stop

when the commercial break ends. It starts getting serious.

[Mimosa]

24. K&R:"I sit around and await the equivalent of Cronkite, or Jennings, or Frank McGee"

The media has the dumbest talking heads these days. They don't hire smart curious people. It's all part of the dumbing down of America.

[fittosurvive]

26. I do not understand the nature of your outrage.

There is 24/7 coverage of this event. We have access to Japanese TV, websites, newspapers, etc; as well as media outlets in every other country on the planet.

[hay rick]

27. K&R

[hfojvt]

30. that does not seem worthy of outrage

it's not like knowledge about meltdowns is somehow critical for the general public to know. It's not like it is part of this pattern

"BROOKS REWRITTEN: I wonder if leading journalists are unwilling to support the tax increases that will be required to avert fiscal catastrophe in part because they are tools to power and servants to their own class interest."

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh031111.shtml

[bertman]

31. REC. You're obviously a smart person, so I too can't believe that you just

"sit around and await the equivalent of Cronkite, or Jennings, or Frank McGee . . ." Ain't gonna happen.

TeeVee is for stupefying the masses, not for educating or enlightening. That's why its ownership has been consolidated into four or five corporations.

Yesterday, the CNN types were pushing the fact that Japan has a budget deficit so they won't be able to pay for the needed rebuilding of their nation. Despite the fact that the commentator repeatedly said that their national debt would not be an issue, the CNN toadie kept pushing the idea that deficits are BAD BAD BAD. Of course, that was simply to reinforce the meme that the U.S. MUST instantly solve its 'debt problem' by cutting every social program and privatizing EVERY FUCKING THING.

Sickening.

[PCIntern]

33. I did say

that I myself can't believe that I'm still waiting for a brain on the TeeVee...so I'm partially embarassed at my own inadequacies...

[bertman]

34. Yes, you did say that. You are not alone. The closest thing we have to

a brain on the TeeVee is Rachel Maddow. We are lucky to have her, but she too has to pull her punches--just like anyone who wants to stay on prime time.

[roody]

32. Turn it off.

[lonestarnot]

36. K & R

[Mybrokenchains]

37. the media today is only good for a cheap laugh usually....

and that cheap laugh erodes your soul when you realize your in reality

[2banon]

38. Korporate Media is the Meta Issue..

Naomi Klein said this at the National Conference for Media Reform back in 2006 (if memory serves), sometime before her Shock Doctrine book was published. It strikes right at the heart of all issues. Without a truly free press, we have no democracy.. It is impossible to exist and thrive. So we'd had better get clued into that fact post haste and throw more energy and attention to reforming the media in this country. But somehow, I just don't see that happening quite yet. Don't really know what it's going take. But there are thousands of people who are trying and struggling with a truly free press (print, broadcast, and of course the internets)..

[Jackpine Radical]

41. I haven't watched TV regularly since maybe 1962

when I went off to college in 1962. We had 1 TV in a basement room of my dorm for those who couldn't get along without their fix. For decades I've heard people talking about various shows that I never saw. It's not a religion for me, just a strong habit to avoid the toob. I do sometimes watch when my wife turns it on for coverage of something like the Japanese catastrophe, but that's about it.

I've lived a happy life without it.

[dotymed]

42. "legitimate, competent, 24/7 coverage of this catastrophe "

is not allowed in a totalitarian state. That is what we have become. China with a higher defense budget (so they asy)....

[HCE SuiGeneris]

44. One word... Ownership

It's a tragic state of affairs.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

45. One thing people can do is to REFUSE to watch TV

when their ratings are in the crapper and more and more people have their cable TV cut off - they'll get the message.

I haven't had cable TV since 2001. It's useless. They ignore extremely important stories. They report half of other stories while leaving most of the story out. And the part they do bother to report on is twisted and taken out of context to suit their corporate agenda.

With few exceptions, that is cable TV news. As for the rest of the programs - garbage. Why anyone would pay to be subjected to it is beyond me.

[Lorien]

46. BBC World and Al Jazeera English are about the only way to go

if you want "old fashioned" news coverage ( I watch them online. TV news is worthless).

[Concordia]

54. Definitely

These two are my main news sources.

[ffr]

47. Explains why Faux and CNN are blocked channels

on all my TVs. I'm just not interested in entertaining news. Call me old fashioned.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

48. The website USTREAM has been showing live feed

from local Japanese TV channels. The coverage is much more varied and less repetitious than ours. We get NHK World on public access here in Minneapolis, but they seem to have picked up bad habits from CNN. They show the same footage over and over.

I canceled cable four years ago and kept the basic-basic channels (including public access) because my Internet is cheaper with it than without it.

I watch only PBS, the International Mysteries on MHzWorldview (public access), NHK World (occasionally), and Democracy Now (public access). Otherwise, it's DVDs and streaming all the way. I can now get Al Jazeera English and Deutsche Welle newscasts on my Roku.

[tomp]

49. the entire point of MSM today is to mislead.

the money they make is both gravy and evidence that people can be propagandized into submission/complacency.

[spinbaby]

51. CNN can't even get the time in Japan right half the time

On Friday at 10:30, the news bimbo announced that Japan was 14 hours ahead of us so it was 2:30 in the morning there. On Sunday, another news bimbo correctly made the 14-hour calculation, having forgotten that daylight savings time now made the difference 13 hours.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

52. K&R

[A wise Man]

53. Thats why the TEAPARTIERS

are so dumb, blind, ignorant and uninformed. Sad that a human being can be soooooo weak minded.

[Shagbark Hickory]

55. Quit watching it then. Switch over to the international news outlets..

.You'll learn everything u wanna know about this disaster in 10 minutes of watching and not see a single commercial.

CCTV news
BBC
EUro News
Al J.
France 24

in no particular order.

[zwyziec]

56. CNN

I saw that show and totally agree with you on how rudely they treated Ney. I'm a physicist and know how difficult it is to explain complicated phenomena in 30 seconds or less with people who not only don't have a basic understanding of science but who really don't care, even when they live in a universe driven by mathematics.

So when you see regressive presidential candidates state publicly that they don't believe in evolution, don't believe in global warming, believe the world was created 6000 years ago because some book written by people who had no idea of their natural world and live in superstition and who control our public education, you can better understand the sad state we are in with no hope of discussion to seek remedies.

But there was one redeeming moment on CNN last night. I was watching Piers Morgan who did interview scientists. I don't care for Piers but came away with high respect for him after that show. He asked intelligent questions as a layman, and gave his guest ample time to answer, then had great technical follow-up questions. That's the kind of give and take we need more of on our media.

Perhaps it's the format of the show. Piers is a question and answer format. All the other shows on CNN, most of which are repeats, are not journalistic but sensationalistic.

I encourage all readers to learn more about the science of our world and encourage our youth to get more active in science and math. It's our only salvation from a theocratic regressive agenda.