Want to Know News vs. Need to Know News

     I don't know how many of y'all know this, but years ago I was a television news guy. The high point of my TV news days was probably in Charleston, West Virginia. I was everything from main anchor to executive producer. All that means is, it didn't go on the air if I didn't want it to go on the air. And when it went on the air, it went on the air in the manner I wanted it presented on the air. Now looking back on the days....I was an IDIOT!

     I bet more times than not, I emphasized news I thought viewers WANTED to SEE and hardly ever encouraged news viewers NEEDED to KNOW. Gosh, there are too many examples. 

     With that said, the whacky news, the 'water-cooler' news is mainstream. It's so hard to avoid and even harder to resist. So, I'm not sure if I'm writing to bash the stupid, silly and unnecessary or just to point out the inescapable presence of the unnecessary news. I'm still guilty of reading the 'dumb' stuff before the 'need to know' stuff. Are you? 

           I've snapped a few shots from my newsfeed. I'd like to know what you think. Are these articles 'need to know' or 'want to know?' And if they're 'want to know,' did you waste your time reading them, like I did---at least some of them? 

Big News!

     Here's the article that spawned this blog and I actually read it. I didn't need to know this information, but I guess I wanted to know it.

    Turns out, "Fido" scratches the ground after 'passing water' due to his wolf/coyote ancestry. The good news, at least according to the article, is only 15% of male dogs do this after 'T-Ting" as my mother would say.

    The only way I know that I didn't waste time reading this article is I want to know if you'd waste your time reading this article. If I'm not wasting your time, then I'm glad you're using your time to read my article. Your thoughts?

Here's one I didn't read: "Pink's husband reveals son is suffering from hand, food and …." 

Uh Oh!

      First of all, I like Pink but not that much to read anything about her. Next, I'm a closet hypochondriac. So I didn't want to read an article about Pink's son with "hand, food and …." which I'm sure the article includes the symptoms. 

     I know myself. I'd soon wake-up in the middle of the night thinking... "Oh my gosh, I think I have 'hand, food and …."

     I would consider this article useful in only limited circles. First, we'd be with Pink fans, whom I'm pretty sure are far younger than Teresa and me. But if were hanging with any Pink fans and a Pink song came on, which I think I'd like, I'd probably ask: "Who's the artist?" They'd say, "Pink, dummy. Don'tcha know her son has 'hand, food and …" Your thoughts?

I liked this article

    Now, here's one I liked and did read. I thought, I was well educated. I went to a private high school, graduated 57 out of 58. I was accepted into two universities. The first, I majored in party and graduated cum laude. The second, I majored in broadcast journalism and graduated.

     I did pretty well on the quiz. But seriously... Who doesn't know that the Alamo is in Texas versus Mexico.

     So I guess you might say that I found this article more reassuring than necessary.

     What are your thoughts?

Huh?

     I didn't even read the next article, but admit the headlines caught my eye. What in the world does Colonel Sanders have to do with baby names?

     Here's what I know about KFC. #1) A great memory is... the big KFC bucket with all sides included stacked under the bird. #2) My dad told me once that he rode on a plane with the Col. Sanders. I think he even said the Colonel was wearing his white suit. And #3) His gravy is AMAZAZING! Try it over white bread. It's absolutely heaven on a fork. Your Thoughts?

Oh, What A Tangled Web We weave

    Here's the last on. The Queen's staying mum on the dysfunctional, American side of her family tree.

     I didn't read this one, but I do follow my royal friends. I like the boys. They're good. I'm pretty sure they'll do even more good.  So, I admit there are some 'Royal' stories I will follow.

     In fact, I noticed today, while checking out at the grocery store,t a popular tabloid is reporting Meghan and Harry are "over the world" excited that they're expecting twin girls. Apparently, they plan to name them Diana and Elizabeth. Good job kids. Your thoughts?

     The debate is 'Need to Know News' like war, politics, taxes, school lunch prices, weather, significant charities, etc versus 'want to know' news like babies with who knows what, dogs kicking dirt after 'passing water,' chicken and babies.

     What do you think? 

Bill Robertson, "A monkey, a rabbi and a pirate walked into a restaurant... film at 11:00." Does that get your attention or "School lunch prices increasing by 50%... details at 11:00?"