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is it really necessary?
Sep. 11th, 2008 07:01 amIs it really necessary for MSNBC to just show tape from the original event? Can't they move past the 'rewind' phase and do something more educational at this point, 7 years on? Or cover some of the I'm sure hundreds of memorial services if they can't do that. Is it a staff issue? Can NBC seriously not get anyone to work on the morning of September 11?
Even if they don't want to cover another Bush speech, there is plenty of other news right now. A major hurricane is about to hit somewhere within 100 miles of Houston. The financial markets are falling apart. Even if there aren't 50 people getting blown up every day, there are still 2 American wars going on. The leader of North Korea is recovering (?) from a stroke. Russia is still trying to provoke some sort of mistake from someone in ihe ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. Oh, and lest I forget, the CERN supercollider was switched on, and we still exist.
Is none of this newsworthy enough to need reporting? If MSNBC is doing this because they think "people need to remember," then I think they need to take a look at the myriad of other sources far better equipped, purposed, and most of all, expected to play the role of "reminder." There will be documentaries all over cable networks. History Channel, Discovery Channel, etc. Channels without the expectation of up-to-date information. Even within MSNBC there are better ways of fulfilling the same purpose, through the MSNBC documentary division, which produces shows like Locked Up for broadcast after the news day is done.
I think that the way they are doing it today, by showing the entire real-time sequence of events from the first program interruption through the second WTC collapse, is not only a misuse of their resources as a news network, a complete repudiation of their top ratings-earning anchor Keith Olberman, who has spent the last week explain just how much the Republicans (and Fox) have turned this day into a political tool for their own uses, and a disservice to the people of the United States that rely on news channels to inform them of the current news. It is not only those things, it is also, probably, a terrible mistake as a network, since most people will turn to other channels, CNN, Fox, etc., repulsed by being forced to relive that day, or just not interested in seven year old news.
I know if I lived in coastal Texas, I'd b e much more interested in path predictions for Ike than in MSNBC's "Living History" stunt.
Even if they don't want to cover another Bush speech, there is plenty of other news right now. A major hurricane is about to hit somewhere within 100 miles of Houston. The financial markets are falling apart. Even if there aren't 50 people getting blown up every day, there are still 2 American wars going on. The leader of North Korea is recovering (?) from a stroke. Russia is still trying to provoke some sort of mistake from someone in ihe ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. Oh, and lest I forget, the CERN supercollider was switched on, and we still exist.
Is none of this newsworthy enough to need reporting? If MSNBC is doing this because they think "people need to remember," then I think they need to take a look at the myriad of other sources far better equipped, purposed, and most of all, expected to play the role of "reminder." There will be documentaries all over cable networks. History Channel, Discovery Channel, etc. Channels without the expectation of up-to-date information. Even within MSNBC there are better ways of fulfilling the same purpose, through the MSNBC documentary division, which produces shows like Locked Up for broadcast after the news day is done.
I think that the way they are doing it today, by showing the entire real-time sequence of events from the first program interruption through the second WTC collapse, is not only a misuse of their resources as a news network, a complete repudiation of their top ratings-earning anchor Keith Olberman, who has spent the last week explain just how much the Republicans (and Fox) have turned this day into a political tool for their own uses, and a disservice to the people of the United States that rely on news channels to inform them of the current news. It is not only those things, it is also, probably, a terrible mistake as a network, since most people will turn to other channels, CNN, Fox, etc., repulsed by being forced to relive that day, or just not interested in seven year old news.
I know if I lived in coastal Texas, I'd b e much more interested in path predictions for Ike than in MSNBC's "Living History" stunt.
