Letters to the Editor
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Serai1 and Manjoo, you've both missed the boat.
First of all, Serai1. You used to be able to trust TV news. If anything, they were quicker and smarter than newspapers - which, if you didn't know, have even more corrupt connections to the rich and powerful than TV ever did.
What happened is that TV news went from being an obligation to serve the public to a profit center. Morality disappeared, to be replaced by desire for ratings. The hunger for ratings became so great that the station owners (who increasingly are megacorporations) ignored their own news directors.
They put their faith in "consultants" who pushed flashy graphics, characterless Barbie-and-Ken reporters and ambulance chasing instead of journalism. Why examine corruption in city council when you can show bloody car crashes and black (ALWAYS black) criminals doing a perp walk?
It's been visible over the last thirty years, if you bothered to actually watch what TV stations aired. (I wouldn't expect someone as ignorant and uncaring as Salon's assigned TV columnist to do so, but even civilians should surely have seen it happening before their eyes.)
And Mr. Manjoo, you caught one of the symptoms, but didn't examine all its aspects. It sure is easy to throw VNR's up, but there's more to it. By essentially being whores for all kinds of business, the reporters are assured of contacts with those businesses. Reporters measure their worth, power and earning ability by the number and importance of their contacts - not values as vague or as "gay" as truth, clarity or honesty.
It's more than corruption and greed. The end result is local news that no adult with self-respect or intelligence should watch. What continues to astonish me (even though I believe H. L. Mencken's estimation of American taste) is that people continue to watch in growing numbers. They'd be better off watching South Park instead.