Fri, Apr 13 2007

Dealing the news

Much of the news on TV has degraded lately to sub-tabloid level. The stakes are high and the hands are increasingly too hot to hold in the neverending poker game of newsertainment. It's hard to keep up with the rules because they change so quickly. Currently, breaking news beats scheduled broadcasts, breaking news with a live press conference beats any other breaking news, a live press conferece involving a celebrity scandal beats any other live press conferece, a high speed chase beats any live press conference, a high-speed chase on a Los Angeles area freeway beats any other high speed chase, and so on.

Remember slow-news days? We don't have those anymore. Jib-Jab threw off the poker-face and made fun of this media-driven extravaganza with a video entitled What We Call The News. They do their best to tell it like it is without using gutter language, but do view with caution if you're easily offended or at work where others might take offense at your video selection.

Jib-Jab must have known that there doesn't seem to be any end to this escalation of news-slinging. Their satire will probably be just as appropriate in 10 years as it is today. In the poker game of newsertainment it seems as though nobody ever holds for long. And the chips just keep piling up on the table. Nobody ever folds. And we keep tuning into their back room game and we peek over their shoulders in the hope that we'll get to see what they've got up their sleeves for the next round.

posted at: 09:59 | category: /Arts and Entertainment | link to this entry