Breaking News: Socked by Snow
Is it me, or has CNN gotten really weird? It’s on the basement TV at school right now, and I’m struck by how informal it’s become since the last time I watched a 24-hour TV news network who-knows-when.
First there was a guy talking about the blizzard in the Northeast. He mentioned the rain in Southern California for a few sentences, then summed it up with “so the whole country is experiencing this.” Right. Okay, so that part wasn’t particularly informal, it just annoyed me.
Then the same guy and another CNN anchor (do they still call them that?), apparently in another studio, had a gripe session between themselves about how dumb the word “bipartisanship” is. They both leaned on their desks and made faces, and the lady actually rolled her eyes at one point. They agreed that Congress was being childish, and that everything would be okay if all of Congress went out and got drunk together.
Then back to the blizzard. Did you know that when it snows a lot, like 50 cars on a highway will all crash into each other? Apparently this happened in three places at once. CNN reported on the pile-ups by having a different anchor walk a camera back to another part of the studio, where they filmed a guy pulling up tabs of news stories about the crashes. Look, either you have a camera on the ground (or a helicopter, or a video someone’s sent in), or you don’t. I can find stuff on the internet all by myself, thanks.
Then we walked over to another computer, displaying a tweet full-screen. At least it was from the Maryland National Guard and not sassyMDmama99.
And then, of course, a clip of a rodeo cowboy getting thrown from a bull and knocked out. Why not? That’s news, right?
I’m not saying this isn’t a legitimate mode of entertainment—I’m sure they’re doing a great job of that—but wow. CNN has a huge staff and tons of money, and the state of the art appears to be a live version of YouTube. I mean, I know ground-up reporting by the little guys is all the rage with the kids these days, but I’m pretty sure it’s not because of the shaky camera work.
Even now, they’ve got two guys sitting at the main desk talking to each other, and the camera’s swooping around all over the place. And not just at the beginning or end of the shot, but constantly. Welcome to CNN, the news network for flamingos. Or maybe snakes.
Anyway, I don’t mean to pick on CNN. I’m sure they’re not any wackier than any other news program that’s on at three in the afternoon. My point is . . . something. Don’t try to be the little guy when you’re the big guy, I guess. Leave the wobbly shots of computer screens to us.
P.S. There’s a commercial on for ProFlowers.com, and they have a testimonial from a guy who’s made “59 purchases.” What a player.
P.P.S. Okay, now the girl who walks the camera around has just seen a picture of a collapsed school roof on another guy’s computer screen, and she’s describing the picture for us with her hands. Why not show us? Is this a copyright thing?
P.P.P.S. When you’re taking like five IP classes, everything is a copyright thing.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Oh god, it gets worse. Now they have a segment called “The List U Don’t Want 2 Be On.” I wish I was joking.
I think that’s a sign it’s time for me to hie myself down to the sub-basement and get back to work.