WPLG Channel 10 Shows What Yellow Journalism is All About

I went on the Sun-Sentinel (our local newspaper) message boards to read what people were saying about State Farm’s decision to pull out of the Florida Homeowners Insurance market and was very dismayed to see an entry by a WPLG Channel 10 reporter.  He posted:

hey, any state farm property policy holders want to express your disgust on the local10 6pm news?? i’m a reporter looking for someone to talk to. email me with your contact info. rlohse@wplg.com

Posted by: roger | January 27, 2009 12:41 PM

Let’s forget a moment the lack of proper punctuation and capitalization from a journalist.  How disappointing that WPLG is looking for someone to support a specific point of view instead of simply asking for those who would  like to comment, whether they would like to express disgust or not.

I’m not happy with State Farm, either, but this is yellow journalism at its worst – deciding on a point of view and collecting only that evidence which supports it.

Whatever happened to objectivity?  I’m certainly not happy about State Farm’s action, but there were people who weren’t angry and understood State Farm’s position.  It doesn’t seem that this reporter was interested in hearing from THEM.

Shame on you, Roger Lohse.

Fail, WPLG.  A big, fat FAIL.

I tried to send an e-mail to the station’s general manager via the General Manager contact link on the WPLG website, but the address errored out.  Another FAIL for WPLG…

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Flatulent Felon Faces Further Felonies

Sometimes reading the news is a such a source of frustration that I must take a break from it’s onerous affect on my well being.

Today is not one of those days. This news isn’t onerous, it’s odorous.

Apparently it is against the law to pass gas in Charleston, West Virginia. Well, at least in the presence of a police officer. And if you are so unfortunate as to fart in front of a police officer, it is in your best interest not to fan it towards him or her, even if the fanning is meant as self-preservation, not assault.

Apparently in Charleston, West Virginia the prosecutors are so bored that they are stretching the definition of battery to include fluffy attack.

It’s a good thing it wasn’t an SBD, or they’d have to a heck of a time proving he was the, er, perp. They’d have to interrogate everybody present:

Prosecutor: Mr. Cruz, did you in fact fart in front of Patrolman Parsons?

Mr. Cruz: Wasn’t me!

Prosecutor: Mr. Cruz, Patrolman Parsons smelled it.

Mr. Cruz: Well, he who smelt it, dealt it!

Prosecutor: He who denied it, supplied it!

Okay, I’m done.

No! Wait…

I hope his sentence isn’t too harsh. Perhaps instead of Taps this will be played at his sentencing…

NOW I’m done.

Why I Should Not Watch the News

I’m generally a light-hearted person. I find humor in most things, and thank goodness for that. I used to have a slight fascination with the macabre, but since becoming a Mom even benign troubles can make me teary, or irate, or send me much deeper into introspection than, oh, 99% of the population. At least I hope that’s true, for the population’s sake.

That’s why I should really never watch the news. When I do, instead of

this: I’ve Finally Found the Line,

this: Using My Frugality Against Me, and

this: Death By Chocolate

you get to be on the receiving end of

this: A Miracle For One Family, Heartache For Others,

this: Is Your Decision Not to Vaccinate Your Child More Important Than the Population’s Health at Large?, and

this: Will the Real Baby Daddy Please Swab Up.

Oy.

I think I’ll avoid watching this week.

You can thank me later.

And whoever sent me the Prozac article, thanks but no thanks.