So, I am uncomfortable in the role of defending TV news, as I agree with the sorry state it is in. I have not been watching cable news continuously since the invasion, but every 3-4 hours I watch for about 30 min. I have not seen even one minute of discussion of how it will effect midterm or presidential elections, or even Biden’s poll numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have had segments like this, but not often enough that my sampling has hit it. The closest I have seen is a segment on Trump at CPAC, and his comments on Putin and Biden.
In the early days the story was about the resolve of the Ukrainian people, and of their President. I thought TV News got this right, got it right early, and before it was conventional wisdom. Another story they have covered well is the refugees, and how they have been helped at all of the European borders. The last couple of days a key story has been how the EU countries have changed what appeared to be deeply entrenched positions on limiting sanctions on Russia and military aid to Ukraine. TV News has done a good job of reporting the outcomes, but newspapers have done the real work of reporting the process, see for example great WaPo story on how Zelensky personally convinced the German Chancellor to change his mind in a video call to the EU meeting from the front lines: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/27/russia-ukraine-sanctions-swift-central-bank/ Where I think TV has surprisingly not done a very good job is actually tracking the real time progress of the various Russian lines of advance. All three of the outlets I have been monitoring seem to mostly have reporters in fixed positions observing street intersections or buildings. They get excited when they get audio of missals hitting, or air raid alarms, or fires, but otherwise they mostly say things like “reports are that the Russians are moving up from XXX”, or “the Russian advance is slower than expected”, or “The Capital is still under the control of Ukrainians”. Online you can find more specific reports (locals destroying bridges, heated battles at specific locations), but this is where you also get a lot of conflicting reports. I suspect both traditional and non traditional reports are getting carried away with the romanticism of David standing up to Goliath, and creating an expectation that somehow Ukraine is going to win this war in some kind of movie ending. Sadly that still seems unlikely. On Sun, 27 Feb 2022 at 6:31 PM <twol...@gmail.com> wrote: > I’m with Kevin on the state of US TV news. If I think about how the news > stations are going to cover the invasion I know they are going to talk > about how it’s going to affect the upcoming US elections. I lived in Israel > for years and I remember cable TV came with CNN International. If something > big happened locally and I turned on CNN to see their coverage, it was > about how the event would affect Americans or US foreign policy. > > I followed the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions closely in both the > newspapers and on TV. From day to day there wasn’t a whole lot new to cover > and in retrospect they missed the story in a big way. I don’t trust them to > get this story right. > > On Feb 27, 2022, at 9:10 PM, Kevin M. <drunkbastar...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > You make my point for me. Experts are now available online without a > network filter. Survivor and victim accounts are also available. If I’m > going to try to stomach Don Lemon or Rachel Maddow, they need to offer > something I can’t get elsewhere. > > Like you, I’ve turned to TV during Breaking News throughout my life, too. > But now I not only don’t miss it, but feel I’m better informed by virtue of > not watching it. > > On Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 6:04 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> While there is something to your critique, I think it is overly harsh. I >> have seen several recognized experts on both Russia and Ukraine interviewed >> many times, providing both general context but also targeted context and >> analysis if minute by minute events. They have interviewed Ukrainians >> getting out, and those staying. They have video, and interviews, with >> officials from surrounding nations, NATO, and the EU. Yes, I have seen much >> of this online as well, but television news has, during my lifetime, been >> an import supplement to print journalism, and institutional, legacy media >> are an essential counterweight to much of the freelance reporting one sees >> on Social Media, which has less concern with its reputation and >> credibility. >> >> I’m not saying we would be blind without linear television news, but >> there would be a hole. >> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2022 at 5:54 PM Kevin M. <drunkbastar...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 1:47 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote >>> . >>> >>>> . >>>> >>>> What would happen if there were no more “linear” television outlets on >>>> stories like these? I read the papers often during the day, and the AP, and >>>> Twitter, but there would be a huge hole without television news >>>> organizations with ongoing assets in the field. Will Amazon or Hulu be >>>> doing that down the road? I guess I will have to get CNN+ >>>> >>> >>> Really? A huge hole? What context are TV news providing? What, other >>> than the instantaneous visuals of explosions, are they contributing to the >>> story? I’m unaware of any experts on Ukraine employed by CNN or MSNBC… they >>> might exist, but I can’t imagine they prepared for this eventuality, even >>> though Putin has been preparing for this for more than a decade so they had >>> plenty of time to develop sources and establish solid connections to the >>> region. >>> >>> I haven’t watched any TV coverage, and I don’t feel I’m missing out. I >>> have friends in the area, so I can see any immediate events on social >>> media. For context there are stories from AP and BBC. Both NPR and >>> MarketPlace have done a decent job explaining the impact of war in the >>> region on US economy and life. I fail to see any advantage in whatever CNN >>> or MSNBC might be bloviating about. >>> >>> I’m taking this war personally. I was in Kazakhstan 20 years ago when >>> Putin murdered a school full of men, women, and children in Beslan. And I >>> watched when he attacked Crimea. And Georgia. He’s patient and methodical, >>> and the so called international community has let him get away with this >>> crap over and over again. The US isn’t a moral leader anymore, and we’re on >>> the cusp of ceasing to be a superpower, but we could still be acting >>> against Putin with more than economic sanctions. As could a dozen other >>> nations. >>> >>> Putin won’t stop until he’s forcibly removed from office or >>> assassinated. That’s the reality. Even if he’s convinced to stop attacking >>> Ukraine, he will shift targets or wait until we are distracted and strike >>> again. The TV news media is too dumbed down and too political to cover this >>> situation with any degree of quality or depth. >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYK7D6hT7SF-BOS%3DS233RxsL1BNG4OfO75UA1YqqpXS7dQ%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYK7D6hT7SF-BOS%3DS233RxsL1BNG4OfO75UA1YqqpXS7dQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> Kevin M. (RPCV) >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4BWhG%2BRHxKsoPxmuUw1hcKG99hVBDy-S0hcUres_z9V%3DQ%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4BWhG%2BRHxKsoPxmuUw1hcKG99hVBDy-S0hcUres_z9V%3DQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> Sent from Gmail Mobile >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKwPP1v4U8RpOdLvLb5s%2BEOtR6uFiGb9k3AGud89-K5jg%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKwPP1v4U8RpOdLvLb5s%2BEOtR6uFiGb9k3AGud89-K5jg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > Kevin M. 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