Have you noticed just how bad television has become? Just when Facebook, Twitter and a host of other media outlets and smart phones with all kinds of apps have appeared and have become a source of rapid information as well as entertainment, it is not clear what those who are promoting television these days have in mind other than commercials and ratings.
Check your cable or satellite info channel and you will readily find that a program that has been on one network is now on another or that a network chooses to repeat the same program over and over during a given week. How many channels need to run Buffy the Vampire Slayer or an entire day of How It Is Made? One channel even runs what it calls a Christmas special all day long on Christmas day except that the story has little if anything to do with Christmas and something to do with a BB gun and a lamp in the shape of a woman's leg. How amazing.
As part of the media, television still has much to offer in the way of instant news reports and there a few networks exclusively devoted to that venue, but often the depth of reporting and interviews are governed more by the constraints of time and the need for commercial sponsoring, that those who interview guests are forced to ask what often amounts to inane questions and to cut worthy dialogue short.
Perhaps television should also adopt a newer way of delivering commercials, say at the beginning of a program instead of during it. People could then tune in for the program and skip the commercials, most of which seem to be made for individuals whose intelligence is about six points below that of a well trained Airedale. The truth is, what do we "really" know about the products that are commercially pushed at us? People might watch meaningful and informative commercials and perhaps the "fat police" would be happy if people did not use commercial time to go the kitchen to obtain more junk food to eat.
Even Public television needs sponsors and they seem to handle it quite well, although some in Congress want to cut their funding claiming that they (the Public Television stations) lean to the left or the "other" side, whatever that may mean at the moment. Perhaps Congress would serve the country better by not allowing just a few individuals or corporations to control all the majority of the media outlets, but there is little chance of that happening.
There is still much value to be found in television but as the INTERNET continues to grow it seems that what we now call television is getting "lazy." Some people who have had successful programs on television are now giving them up and choosing to have the same kind of program via the INTERNET. Things could get exciting and television networks have the choice of changing or getting on the bandwagon. Given their recent offerings, I think we should all begin to worry. Ralph
Check your cable or satellite info channel and you will readily find that a program that has been on one network is now on another or that a network chooses to repeat the same program over and over during a given week. How many channels need to run Buffy the Vampire Slayer or an entire day of How It Is Made? One channel even runs what it calls a Christmas special all day long on Christmas day except that the story has little if anything to do with Christmas and something to do with a BB gun and a lamp in the shape of a woman's leg. How amazing.
As part of the media, television still has much to offer in the way of instant news reports and there a few networks exclusively devoted to that venue, but often the depth of reporting and interviews are governed more by the constraints of time and the need for commercial sponsoring, that those who interview guests are forced to ask what often amounts to inane questions and to cut worthy dialogue short.
Perhaps television should also adopt a newer way of delivering commercials, say at the beginning of a program instead of during it. People could then tune in for the program and skip the commercials, most of which seem to be made for individuals whose intelligence is about six points below that of a well trained Airedale. The truth is, what do we "really" know about the products that are commercially pushed at us? People might watch meaningful and informative commercials and perhaps the "fat police" would be happy if people did not use commercial time to go the kitchen to obtain more junk food to eat.
Even Public television needs sponsors and they seem to handle it quite well, although some in Congress want to cut their funding claiming that they (the Public Television stations) lean to the left or the "other" side, whatever that may mean at the moment. Perhaps Congress would serve the country better by not allowing just a few individuals or corporations to control all the majority of the media outlets, but there is little chance of that happening.
There is still much value to be found in television but as the INTERNET continues to grow it seems that what we now call television is getting "lazy." Some people who have had successful programs on television are now giving them up and choosing to have the same kind of program via the INTERNET. Things could get exciting and television networks have the choice of changing or getting on the bandwagon. Given their recent offerings, I think we should all begin to worry. Ralph
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