Grumpy Editor asks if you've had enough of the same video footage --- focusing on noisy, disruptive protesters at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's Chicago rally --- that has been repeated over and over since Friday night. Clips are still running today.
Enough already.
That's why TV news watchers are switching to the Animal Planet channel.
Newspapers joined in with a parade of action photos of protesters at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Many of the protesters, including students, jumped up and down with their arms in the air. TV news directors relish such animation coupled with some physical confrontations.
A typical protester, facing a Fox News Channel camera Friday night, was asked why she was among protesters. She replied that she had no idea why she was shouting against Trump, who cancelled the rally.
MSNBC, Fox News and CNN mostly went wall to wall with the yelling and fist-waving action while NBC, CBS and ABC used the Chicago (and later other protests over the weekend) to lead off network news programs.
Associated Press on Saturday fed a lengthy report --- Analysis: Chicago chaos tests Trump promises of unity. It contained the line: "The Chicago chaos presents the biggest leadership test yet for the Republican outsider, the deeply divided Republican Party and an even more sharply splintered nation that he seeks to lead."
(What do trouble-seeking protesters have to do with Trump's "biggest leadership test"? And note how "deeply divided Republican Party" was worked in, while "more sharply splintered nation" is pinned on a GOP presidential candidate rather than the current White House occupant. )
Another AP story ended with: "But many of the protesters in Chicago said they were there specifically to stop Trump from speaking."
Just think how some political writers would treat a baseball game with some fans shrieking at an umpire's call in a crucial matchup leading to a brawl by the home team at second base. They probably would blame the team’s owner.
Many observers agreed with Trump that the Chicago ruckus was "a planned attack."
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter approved plans from the military services and Special Operations Command to open up all combat jobs to women, and authorized the military to begin integrating female combat soldiers immediately…A CardHub.com study found Americans in last year’s fourth quarter added more than $52 billion in credit card debt, making it the largest pace of credit card debt increase since the Great Recession…While going on for decades, the Washington Post brought it up again last week with: Pay doesn’t look the same for men and women at top newspapers…Sleepy state? Centers for Disease Control found residents of the Great Plains states have the highest prevalence of “healthy sleep duration” --- especially in South Dakota, where 71.6 percent of residents sleep more than seven hours a day…Not so bright earnings picture? Bloomberg View noted corporate profits have dropped three out of the last four quarters, adding that usually means a recession for the U.S. economy…Lawmakers introduced a bill that would limit airline fees for checked bags, ticket changes and cancellations, claiming the practice is similar to price gouging.
Surveys galore:
Americans are getting fed up with surveys (asking “how are we doing”?) that come via telephone (quizzers say “it will only take three to five minutes”), e-mail and snail mail. Newspapers and magazines are among the survey-takers.
Comments