I agree with the widespread view that there was far too much unnecessarily graphic detail shown on television news during the Weatherston trial.
I am becoming sick of the trial-by-television which seems to be occupying a large part of the news.
It reflects the dumbing-down of television. An item becomes news only if there is spectacular footage to accompany it. And, if there isn't any recent footage, we have a pointless piece to camera that adds nothing to our knowledge of an issue to fill the time till the next ad break.
Listen to Checkpoint at 5 pm on National Radio and you'll get up-to-the-minute coverage, with some insightful comment, and then watch the 6 pm television news and you wonder if is being beamed from a different planet.
Brian Edwards makes a timely observation about
the television reporting of many disasters is often couched in terms that almost suggest regret that the death toll was not higher: “Two thousand people are reported to have died in the earthquake, but the figure could still rise.” Or: “The death toll from swine ‘flu now stands at X, but is expected to reach record levels”
Read the full story here.