it’s not the meat, it’s the motion

How pathetic is it that someone actually has to trumpet CNN’s so-called “news” (as opposed to entertainment) coverage?

Giving CNN Credit For Hard News
An observer writes to TVNewser:

“Around 12:30, MSNBC is talking about a raunchy golf outing in the Poconos, while CNN is simulcating International coverage of the breaking news that Tony Blair will become the new Mideast Envoy.

So folks may bust on CNN for airing the Paris Hilton interview (which any network would take if Zucker hadn’t offered cash), but it seems they do serious news too …

Listen up: hard news is not just about the content of the stories—it’s mostly about the way stories are presented. If the MSM is appealing to your emotions rather than your intellect, you’re being aroused: i.e., entertained. And that’s true even if the topic is Iraq or Gaza or Hurricane Katrina. It is certainly true when the topic is politics.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll be harping on it in the future: the “news” as presented on television is not really serious business (although it takes serious work to produce it, and there are serious people producing it). It’s just another genre in the media’s storytelling repertoire.

So try not to get too excited by CNN’s total devotion to matters of great importance. Tonight, I note, it’s all Paris Hilton all the time.