Ratings, Overheard, Retirement (all about local news)

Take your high ideals and shove them right up your ass
Yesterday on KSTP, at 5:10 during the news broadcast a question was asked: how much money does the flu cost the U.S. annually? That's an interesting question, I thought, paying attention. And then: "We'll be back at 5:25 with the answer.

No, KSTP. You are giving us NEWS. When you have a feature with a question to be answered later in the broadcast, you are making explicit your true purpose: RATINGS. You want people to keep watching (maybe because people like me switch a lot). Despite the Ed Asner commercials, you are primarily concerned with ratings. So don't act like you're part of a noble profession. Don't act like you're performing a public service. When you have the "We'll answer this interesting question and all you have to do is keep watching us" feature, you have outed yourself as what you are: A RATINGS WHORE.

(If I sound angry, it's because I am. "Journalists" often tout themselves as some sort of public servants with a high set of ideals and a special code. But TV "journalists" are really no better than schlock like American Idol or any other entertainment show that just wants people to watch for the $).

Overheard in River Falls
Man:....Sven
Woman: I love Sven! He's good looking.
Man: No he's not! He looks like a rat.

Ken Speake is retiring.
When Possible Flurries Told me that Ken Speake is retiring, I looked at her blankly and said, "So?" "This has to be blogged about," she said. "We can't write a blog everytime some chuck at Kare 11 retires," I responded. However, evidently, we do.

Go see the Ken Speake tribute.