February 22nd was just another day in the ongoing dumbing down of America

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I had the opportunity to watch the first 15 minutes of Good Morning America and then listen to Harry National Public Radio on Thursday, February 22nd (which, ironically, happens to be the anniversary of George Washington’s birthday). Anyway I thought their respective lead news stories provided an interesting snapshot into the continual dumbing down of society. To wit, NPR’s lead stories were as follows:

– Anti-Iraq War protests in Sydney, Australia, against Vice President Cheney’s impending State visit

– The latest machinations in the Scooter Libby trial

– The capsizing of an Indonesian ferry boat with significant loss of life

– Prince Harry’s posting to Iraq as a member of the British military services

Conversely, Good Morning America focused solely on Prince Harry, and devoted its first 15 minutes to the ‘breaking story.’

As we slide further and further into a sleazy, tabloid-obsessed society, it’s sad to see GMA stoop to National Enquirer-type levels.

So, where are the remaining bastions of legitimate news? Aside from NPR, CNN, the Times and Journal, I’m hard pressed to think of many.

It’s a sad trend that augers poorly for our children’s future and our country’s global competitiveness.

As a quick postscript to this ‘dumbing down’ blog: the Today Show devoted the first 25 minutes of its Friday, February 23rd ‘edition’, to the Anna Nicole Smith nonsense. What a disgrace.

2 thoughts on “February 22nd was just another day in the ongoing dumbing down of America”

  1. To Jenny’s point, one of the morning shows called the hiccup girl 57 times in oder to land her as a guest. This was while she was staying at a hotel on another morning show’s dime.
    After considering that, it’s comical to think how people on our side can be blasted for following up on a pitch with one phone call…

  2. Rep,
    I totally agree, especially regarding the morning shows. You would think that amidst the hundreds of commercials, they would air something of value. Check out this clip from the Today Show last week. They actually brought this poor girl on the show as a guest because she can’t stop hiccuping and treated it like a serious and timely topic. It was painful to watch!
    http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=231249