Journalism's duty is to report not only what a politician says, but also what he does, especially when one conflicts with the other.
National reporters who stay in Washington, however, trailing political leaders and relaying what they say, too often have no idea what the pols are doing on their home territories.
Bob Teague, a pioneering journalist who worked in New York City television after learning his trade in print media, assailed the shallowness of TV news. And Rachel Maddow, a liberal TV commentator today, lamented the tendency of national reporters to stay inside Washington's Beltway, unaware of what their subjects are doing at home.
Quick question: Who gets more air time on your local TV news program, the mayor or the football coach? The answer to that says a great deal about 1/ the "news" division of the local station, and 2/ the audience.
TV execs defend their choices with the claim that this is what the audience wants: sports, weather and traffic reports, as well as shootings and fires. Besides, reports on the economy are too hard to do, people don't care about business, and they have lost faith in politicians.
Perhaps. All the more reason to do them, and make them interesting.
Meanwhile, those who really want local news -- town council, school board, zoning and planning board meetings, or anything else that directly affects a resident's wallet -- must go to print media in the form of a daily or weekly newspaper. These are the folks who cover the stories that are important, but not glamorous enough to attract a TV news crew.
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