The Today Show (NBC) really is beginning to reach into the bottom of the barrel. I find that I am watching it less and less every week. Now they are lucky if I am tuned in past 7:30 AM.
The problem with today’s show was that they dug out the “Dugger” family again, in order to cover a big announcement the family was going to make. You may recall that the Dugger family is Jim Bob and Michelle Dugger – and their 18 children. That’s not a family, that’s two baseball teams. But the Today Show seems obsessed with this family, to the point that if one of them does something like ovulate, it seems Today has to cover it. The minute I heard that they were gong to cover another Dugger news flash, I decided that as soon as they were finished with the high points of news and weather, I was tuning the show out – and I did, sometime before 7:30. I found out later that the big news was that the eldest Dugger son and his wife are expecting a child.
Yawn.
I find it silly that the Today Show wants to spend any time on the Dugger family, whose only claim to fame is that they can pump out a lot of babies. Are we now going to be subjected to hearing about the family as every child of theirs pumps out kids of their own? It certainly looks that way. If the Today Show continues to cover this kind of unimportant event, then I likely won’t be tuning in at 7:00 AM anymore. It is a story like this that makes me think that the Today Show is losing its edge.
With all that is going on in the world these days – the weak economy, global warming, rising food prices, poverty, politics, war, pirates, genocide in Africa, etc. - I would think that on a scale of 0 to 10, the Dugger family rates about a –5 on the scale of importance in the grand scheme of things. Sure, even in tough times people need to be entertained, but do we have to see the same people over and over again? C’mon Today Show – show some creativity. There are plenty other people out there in the world that are actually doing good things to help make this world a better place. Take a cue from your colleague at Nightly News, Brian Williams, who often features news stories about people who are really making a difference.
As far as the Dugger family, please bury any future stories and any more like them. These stories really are beneath you.
For those of you who must watch, here’s the Dugger appearance on the Today Show. I refuse to look.
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Showing posts with label NBC News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBC News. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, November 19, 2007
Ann Curry - The Talent Right Underneath Our Noses
Is it my imagination, or has the departure of Katie Couric from The Today Show been the best thing for Ann Curry?
It certainly seems like the dark shadow of Katie has moved away, and has allowed the limelight to shine onto Ann. It’s not as if Ann wasn’t visible before that, it seems that she has just suddenly started to get more attention for her hard work. Last year, she did a gripping story on the plight of the people of Darfur. She’s interviewed world leaders and asks tough questions that some struggle to answer. Most recently, she made a trek to the South Pole, and also did a heart-wrenching, almost horrifying story on how disabled children are being treated in Serbia.
Today is Ann’s 50th birthday, and The Today Show did a short piece about Ann and her contributions. Seeing her on the show almost every weekday morning, I never realized what an accomplished reporter she is. Over the years, she’s become so much more than a woman who just sits there and reads the teleprompter. She’s involved herself in the important stories of our times, and worked hard to bring the spotlight, and emotional perspective, on subjects that many may find too tough to cover.
I wouldn’t be a stretch to see Ann sitting in the anchor chair for a major television network. So Katie and the rest of the gang – watch what’s coming up behind you. That sound you hear could be Ann Curry pulling the anchor chair from underneath you.
Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!
It certainly seems like the dark shadow of Katie has moved away, and has allowed the limelight to shine onto Ann. It’s not as if Ann wasn’t visible before that, it seems that she has just suddenly started to get more attention for her hard work. Last year, she did a gripping story on the plight of the people of Darfur. She’s interviewed world leaders and asks tough questions that some struggle to answer. Most recently, she made a trek to the South Pole, and also did a heart-wrenching, almost horrifying story on how disabled children are being treated in Serbia.
Today is Ann’s 50th birthday, and The Today Show did a short piece about Ann and her contributions. Seeing her on the show almost every weekday morning, I never realized what an accomplished reporter she is. Over the years, she’s become so much more than a woman who just sits there and reads the teleprompter. She’s involved herself in the important stories of our times, and worked hard to bring the spotlight, and emotional perspective, on subjects that many may find too tough to cover.
I wouldn’t be a stretch to see Ann sitting in the anchor chair for a major television network. So Katie and the rest of the gang – watch what’s coming up behind you. That sound you hear could be Ann Curry pulling the anchor chair from underneath you.
Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams comes to Cleveland
NBC Nightly News has been my news program of choice for many years. I grew up on Huntley and Brinkley, and I suppose it just carried on from there.
Monday night’s show (November 12) was from Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in Cleveland and have lived in the area all my life. (For those of you who understand the area, I was born a west sider but lived most of my life as an east sider.) It’s a great city and metro area, but is often the target of jokes. So I was happy to see Brian Williams and the NBC news team do a show from Cleveland, featuring its issues and people.
The backdrop was a very rainy Cleveland skyline, and even included one large flash of lightning. (We were getting hit with a very heavy storm at the time. So what else is new?) The show covered the mortgage foreclosure problem in the Slavic Village area of Cleveland and in the suburb of Maple Heights, the push for healthier food choices (and healthier people) at the Cleveland Clinic, and featured a Cleveland fireman who is also a veteran with a Bronze Star. The focus on city stories was brief, but since the show is only 30 minutes long, one can’t expect too much. I have to admit that I was shocked at how badly the mortgage foreclosure problem has impacted some local communities.
Despite the very quick coverage, I was happy for the attention. Cleveland is a very misunderstood place. Before the national newscast, Brian spoke with the local news anchors and recalled how, as a child, he came to Cleveland for summer vacations from his home in Elmira, NY. He said that for him, it was like coming to the Riviera. While now in some areas it’s far from being like the Riviera, the city and the metropolitan area has a lot to offer. It is a great place to have fun, be entertained, enjoy the shores of Lake Erie, and be immersed in various cultural diversions.
So this is just a big THANK YOU to Brian and the NBC News team for coming here and putting the spotlight, albeit a short one, on a town that needs all the attention it can get. (Sorry we couldn’t get you some better weather.)
Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!
Monday night’s show (November 12) was from Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in Cleveland and have lived in the area all my life. (For those of you who understand the area, I was born a west sider but lived most of my life as an east sider.) It’s a great city and metro area, but is often the target of jokes. So I was happy to see Brian Williams and the NBC news team do a show from Cleveland, featuring its issues and people.
The backdrop was a very rainy Cleveland skyline, and even included one large flash of lightning. (We were getting hit with a very heavy storm at the time. So what else is new?) The show covered the mortgage foreclosure problem in the Slavic Village area of Cleveland and in the suburb of Maple Heights, the push for healthier food choices (and healthier people) at the Cleveland Clinic, and featured a Cleveland fireman who is also a veteran with a Bronze Star. The focus on city stories was brief, but since the show is only 30 minutes long, one can’t expect too much. I have to admit that I was shocked at how badly the mortgage foreclosure problem has impacted some local communities.
Despite the very quick coverage, I was happy for the attention. Cleveland is a very misunderstood place. Before the national newscast, Brian spoke with the local news anchors and recalled how, as a child, he came to Cleveland for summer vacations from his home in Elmira, NY. He said that for him, it was like coming to the Riviera. While now in some areas it’s far from being like the Riviera, the city and the metropolitan area has a lot to offer. It is a great place to have fun, be entertained, enjoy the shores of Lake Erie, and be immersed in various cultural diversions.
So this is just a big THANK YOU to Brian and the NBC News team for coming here and putting the spotlight, albeit a short one, on a town that needs all the attention it can get. (Sorry we couldn’t get you some better weather.)
Check out my blog home page for the latest information,
HERE!
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