News - what rates vs what we get vs what is really news?

[Squawk]

Today 1 person died and others were injured following a train crash on the Rome underground. Also today, at least 100 people died in a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka.

Commercial news headlines are emphasising the Rome underground train crash. The ABC to its credit has placed more emphasis on the Sri Lanka incident by leading earlier with the story.

This is just one example of the journalism of the modern media - aka Tabloid journalism. The commercial stations use their programs continually to cross-promote other network programs or to plug advertorials - pieces within a story that are paid for by a company so their product can seemingly be endorsed as part of normal programming.

I can think of at least 5 stories that are bigger stories in Adelaide for our present and future than the lead story on the news tonight that 4 more houses will be compulsorily acquired as part of the South Rd Underpass construction process.

Gone are the investigative stories, the exposes, the whistleblowers, the insights. Now we are peppered with todays new headliners - the cheap and easy stories that can be made locally with a car, a reporter and a cameraman - the neighbour from hell, the 24 hour pawn shop, the old Ukrainian sailing ship rusting at American River, or worse still, Dean Brogan assaults another dog walker, Emma Forster got caught drink driving or the new building being built on the old Advertiser site.

What are your thoughts - (no wonder sites like this have so much regular custom).

[Mr66]

Blame, (Adelaide's Own!) Rupert.

[Squawk]

Rupert may have News Ltd but Kerry Stokes in C7, Packer is C9 (for the time being) although doesn't own the Adelaide Station I don't think and C10 is publicly listed but I don't know who their supremo is.

Rupert does bear a lot of responsibility - Fox news, British Tabloids, MySpace and numerous Australian interests.

Maybe someone should start a campaign to get people to give $1.10 to charity all on the same day instead of buying the Advertiser, or a similar price for another News Ltd paper.

[Dutchy]

good points Squawk

What about the CRAP that gets dished up on ACA and TT these days, they used to hit some real issues, now its just bank bashing, neighbour from hell, dodgy salesman etc etc etc usually with only one side of the story - no wonder Neighbours still rates well while they are around!

,

[Punk Rooster]

Don't watch the news- self serving tripe.
Don't read the news- self serving tripe.
Don't eat the news- it doesn't taste like tripe.

[Blue Boy]

Sensationalism - I just shake my head and rest my case !!!

[heater31]

all the hype about the drought and global warming FFS what utter crap. Its a natural phenomena the earth heats up and cools down also dries up and gets saturated.


Why does council planning rules only allow 40% of stormwater runoff to be put into tanks for storage. why not get serious and make it 100% there you go water crisis solved

[MightyEagles]

Blame, (Adelaide's Own!) Rupert.

No, blame Jeff Kennett.

[Pseudo]

Blame Canada!