Last Sunday night, FOX 25 News at 10 here in Boston broadcast a report telling us that half a dozen former American Idol contestants would be releasing albums between now and Christmas. I was very glad to hear that report. Israelis and Lebanese may be blowing themselves to bits, a deadly heat wave may be sweeping through parts of this country, and gasoline prices may be going through the roof and damaging the economy, but rest assured that when I heard that Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Clay Aiken, and Kellie Pickler will have new music within the next four months, I realized that nothing else was worth worrying about.
How much research did you think the folks at Fox 25 News had to do for that report? I'll tell you: zero. It was a pre-packaged release from Fox network headquarters that they sent out to all their affiliates. I guarantee you that virtually every Fox affliate across the country showed the same report that night. I further guarantee you that virtually no NBC, CBS, or ABC affiliate showed the same report that night. What network airs American Idol? Oh yeah, that's right. Fox.
The lines between news and cross-promotion have become increasingly blurred as networks try to grab every last tenth-of-a-point in the ratings. Do you think it's any accident that CBS, which has a nice fat NFL contract, put no less than three football-centered stories on 60 Minutes last fall. Do you think it was really a coincidence that The Boston Globe, which has an ownership interest in the Boston Red Sox, published a front-page story on travel packages for fans to watch Red Sox road games, complete with website and phone number for bookings? With "stories" like these, is it any wonder that the network news has become so irrelevant?
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