When I studied journalism in the Dark Ages, you had two choices: print or broadcast. I chose print and spent many years behind a typewriter and eventually a computer keyboard. I ran into my broadcast fellow travelers out in the field, and they always seemed an egotistical lot.
In those days, I worked a lot, and continued to do so for decades to come, so my watching the news on TV never amounted to much more than 30 minutes a night — unless something like the OJ Simpson Bronco-escape-a-thon was being televised.
When I retired, I had more time on my hands, so I found myself tuning in to the news even in the daytime hours, and at night too. I quickly realized something profound: “These people gotta go.” If today’s newscasters aren’t downright Nuevo Comunista (pardon my bad Spanish), then they are simply — for the most part — just one-dimensional. Seen ’em once, you know their schtick.
That’s why I’m proposing something that has been proposed for members of Congress for ages: term limits. I see term limits for national newscasters as being three years, no more than five, at which point they can go do their own podcast, or find some other way to preach to the choir. Now, there may be some exceptions for those who truly excel, but I can’t name anyone whom I might nominate for that exemption.
When I retired, I wanted something besides the dogma on the traditional national channels — CBS, NBC and ABC — so I started with Fox. Then I tired of their newscasters’ routines and turned to Newsmax. Then I tired of their routines and tried NewsNation, which is where I am now. The question is: how soon will I tire of their cast of characters and their predictable take on everything?
Now, I would exclude local TV outlets from this term-limits requirement, also weatherpeople — just those who are foisted upon us day after day and night after night on the national airways. I’m sure there are more than enough college students yearning for a career in TV newscasting to fill the void. Maybe they’ll bring something new, at least a different personality.
Actually, I just had one last realization: The new generation will probably prove to be further left than Marx himself. So, I guess I’ll just quit watching the news altogether.
I’d much rather read about the world and weigh contrasting perspectives on my own. Nuevo Reaganista.
