Dumbed Down, Tarted Up

It was Dan Rather who stated recently that television news has been “dumbed down and tarted up”. I could not agree more. Its one reason why, in Canada, the few bright lights on television, which includes the CBC news gathering and reporting crew, needs to be preserved.

Clearly, the purpose of television news is no longer to inform the American people or serve the public interest. It is to “glue eyeballs to the screen” in order to build ratings and sell advertising. If you have any doubt, just look at what’s on: The Robert Blake trial. The Laci Peterson tragedy. The Michael Jackson trial. The Runaway Bride. The search in Aruba. The latest twist in various celebrity couplings, and on and on and on. Al Gore Full text of speech >