What News?
I've recently decided that, as a future librarian, in addition to trying to read all the books ever written, I need to make a substantial effort to pay attention to what's going on in the world. To help me with this task, I have made use of yet another great service of Google's, Google Reader. Sorry, Gillian, but the 10 o'clock news just doesn't quite meet my needs. (Gillian's news preview this evening: "Senior citizen goes missing from local home; the fairy tale ending -- tonight at ten.")
Anyway, I've worked my way up to two news feeds and one nerd-librarian-news-blog, and aside from enjoying a few interesting news items here and there, the only thing I feel like I've really learned so far is that CNN gets the stories first, but FoxNews gets twice as many. (And, nerd that I am, that actually is interesting to me.) But another thing about this whole deal that I've found amusing is that news headlines really are funny. It's not just a hoax forward. Today's jewel is "Dinner Guest Finds Host's Wife, Stepson in Freezer.". How can you not read that one? (And if you think that's gross, how about "Girl's Intestines Sucked Out by Swimming Pool Pump"? Yikes... kinda makes me glad I haven't seen the sun or any pools in weeks...hope you're not reading this over lunch...)
Hm... hits me that this really isn't "funny" - perhaps "twisted" is more accurate? Someone's having a great time in a newsroom somewhere.
Of course, sometimes the headlines are just downright confusing. A few weeks ago, I read this one: "Mob kills passenger in car that hit child." First of all, what does that mean? I personally interpreted it to mean that THE Mob killed the passenger - but did they kill the passenger, in the car? Or did they kill the passenger-in-the-car? I was all set for a made-for-TV-perfect movie, but, as you news-savvy readers know, THE Mob had nothing to do with this incident, which turned out to be really pretty awful, and not at all what you'd want to see on TV, much less in the news...
So aside from finding out about the odd 15-year-old performing a C-section, or discovering pictures of a pink dolphin in a Lousiana lake, I'm not entirely convinced that I'm succeeding in "keeping up" in this format. But it's a start. And P can always catch me up on the really important stuff over dinner.
Anyway, I've worked my way up to two news feeds and one nerd-librarian-news-blog, and aside from enjoying a few interesting news items here and there, the only thing I feel like I've really learned so far is that CNN gets the stories first, but FoxNews gets twice as many. (And, nerd that I am, that actually is interesting to me.) But another thing about this whole deal that I've found amusing is that news headlines really are funny. It's not just a hoax forward. Today's jewel is "Dinner Guest Finds Host's Wife, Stepson in Freezer.". How can you not read that one? (And if you think that's gross, how about "Girl's Intestines Sucked Out by Swimming Pool Pump"? Yikes... kinda makes me glad I haven't seen the sun or any pools in weeks...hope you're not reading this over lunch...)
Hm... hits me that this really isn't "funny" - perhaps "twisted" is more accurate? Someone's having a great time in a newsroom somewhere.
Of course, sometimes the headlines are just downright confusing. A few weeks ago, I read this one: "Mob kills passenger in car that hit child." First of all, what does that mean? I personally interpreted it to mean that THE Mob killed the passenger - but did they kill the passenger, in the car? Or did they kill the passenger-in-the-car? I was all set for a made-for-TV-perfect movie, but, as you news-savvy readers know, THE Mob had nothing to do with this incident, which turned out to be really pretty awful, and not at all what you'd want to see on TV, much less in the news...
So aside from finding out about the odd 15-year-old performing a C-section, or discovering pictures of a pink dolphin in a Lousiana lake, I'm not entirely convinced that I'm succeeding in "keeping up" in this format. But it's a start. And P can always catch me up on the really important stuff over dinner.
You are so funny.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this site for good news daily. I heard about Daryn Kagan onj The Gayle King show on XM Radio. She was an anchor for CNN and started her own site. darynkagan.com
I always choose the option of Husband Filling You In Over Dinner About What's Going On In The World. Works for me and I always here the major stuff! :)
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