Todays news doesn’t report on things that have happened, not until the evening broadcasts anyway. The morning broadcasts are a list of dairy events “Boris Johnson is expected to announce……..”, “the government is, today, expected to confirm that it is Friday and will hold a news conference at 5pm” followed by an interview with another employee of the same news channel who says exactly the same thing again!
There never was a case for rolling news and, for me, events prove that. Significant news doesn’t happen on a minute by minute basis, rarely even on an hour by hour basis.
The worst example of this is the absurd prominence given to ‘election specials’ (all exercises in prediction) cultivated by e.g. the likes of Peter Snow. Who will win? Will the Tories grab Berkchester? Will Rupert, Lord Wokely, lose his seat in Titchester? Hours and hours of this fruitless (even if borne out in the end) speculation, which was easily countered by just waiting for the actual results.
Last edited 2 years ago by Arnold Grutt
Martin Smith
2 years ago
Yes, rolling news is a drug for the idle based on the myth that ‘being informed’ is essentially good. It has turned news into entertainment for the self-righteous and a vehicle for the promotion of news commentators and ‘anchors’ into celebrities. Worse yet it has made reasoned political reporting and debate, already difficult enough, virtually impossible.
Todays news doesn’t report on things that have happened, not until the evening broadcasts anyway. The morning broadcasts are a list of dairy events “Boris Johnson is expected to announce……..”, “the government is, today, expected to confirm that it is Friday and will hold a news conference at 5pm” followed by an interview with another employee of the same news channel who says exactly the same thing again!
There never was a case for rolling news and, for me, events prove that. Significant news doesn’t happen on a minute by minute basis, rarely even on an hour by hour basis.
The worst example of this is the absurd prominence given to ‘election specials’ (all exercises in prediction) cultivated by e.g. the likes of Peter Snow. Who will win? Will the Tories grab Berkchester? Will Rupert, Lord Wokely, lose his seat in Titchester? Hours and hours of this fruitless (even if borne out in the end) speculation, which was easily countered by just waiting for the actual results.
Yes, rolling news is a drug for the idle based on the myth that ‘being informed’ is essentially good. It has turned news into entertainment for the self-righteous and a vehicle for the promotion of news commentators and ‘anchors’ into celebrities. Worse yet it has made reasoned political reporting and debate, already difficult enough, virtually impossible.