Better Living Through Introspection

TV Critic (and TV Barn blogger) Aaron Barnhart shares his views on the current state of entertainment versus news, and why it seems entertainment is the big winner.

Among the more salient points:

So why is it that the situation for TV news is trending in exactly the opposite direction? Why is it more insipid, sensational and facile than ever? Why are Americans who rely on television as their main source of information less informed than ever?

And:

[Ted] Koppel, likewise, has been vocal about what’s happened to network journalism. He told us, “I think the marketplace is exerting a far more dangerous influence on what gets on and what doesn’t get on television news programming these days than any sense of fear of political repercussions or consequences.”

Barnhart smartly finds that part of the solution is in public television, holding up The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer as a prime example of how news on tv should be done. But he delivers this compliment in a backhanded fashion, saying that “public television is broken”. Wha? The real issue isn’t that public television is broken, it’s that it’s under-funded — and Barnhart does in fact say “private citizens can and must respond to the crisis in television news through aggressive funding of noncommercial outlets.” Couldn’t agree more.

So, in its quest to control the world by doing no evil, Google recently unveiled a checkout option for online merchants called Google Checkout. While browsing their FAQ to see if this could possibly benefit me in some way, I came across their list of unacceptable product categories (i.e., things you can’t sell using Google’s technology). Some are no-brainers (porn and weapons), while others, though possibly also no-brainers, are just plain weird. Who the heck would be selling endangered species, drug test evasion kits, or body parts?!

That’s right. You better think twice about selling your kidneys through Google the next time you need to make a buck.

No, really.

As Pogue says, “Drat—another brilliant, Internet-based get-rich-smart scheme, and I didn’t think of it first.”

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