I'm A News Junkie

 

As a news junkie living in Europe, I can easily get the news from several countries, which gives a much wider point of view than from any one country or any station.

As a writer, who has been a journalist, I can easily recognize wording that does everything from shading the news to out-right propaganda. 

That the billionaire oligarchs Ellisons would now control too much of America's media bothers me if the deal giving them control of CNN goes through.

Meanwhile on CNN although I like their commentators, their ads drive me nuts. If I turn on CNN ten times, eight will be showing promos for their own programs not news. These promos can be repeated many times in the same hour to a point I can mouth the words along with the program. 

I like Becky Anderson's suits and Amanpour's pink sweater. 

I can notice when a hair is out of place or the blonds have died their roots. 

Is that Richard Quest's dog riding with him?

Rather than watch, it is much easy to switch to English, German, French, Japanese or Al Jazeera news stations. I can compare what stories are covered and how.

CNN finally, FINALLY got rid of the cartoon of people swimming in a pool that was showed at the top of almost every hour followed by a list of hotels that had the CNN channel. They ran that promo for years.

We were watching today. The same woman chef from Africa was in the ad that had appeared umpty ump times. "I've seen her so often, I feel like I'm sleeping with her," my husband said.

I'm not worried. I just change the channel.