Image via WikipediaIt's time for the Minnesota State Fair again, that celebration of people, animals, and whatever-it-is on a stick. It also means that every local TV station sets up shop here, telling everyone how wonderful the fair is and wishing you were here.Before we go too much further, I'd like to recommend an article that's in the August 25 City Pages. It's a T.D. Mischke column titled "The Banality Bandwagon", which is his take on the media coverage of the State Fair. What there is of it. Go to http://www.citypages.com/.
Read it? Good. Here's a couple more things I'd like to add.
First, there's the constant promotion for the fair from people with journalism degrees who should know better. They cover crime, politics and traffic accidents the rest of the year, and now they are asked to shill for an event as if they were that guy selling some gadget on TV at three a.m.. And it's always "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" ad nauseum. Sometimes it seems as if TV news is promoting the fair rather than covering it.
Second, there's the live news broadcasts that are painful to watch. Does it bother anyone when a studio audience more suited for a sitcom or a talk show (and likely stuffed with corn dogs or Sweet Martha's cookies) becomes the backdrop for the Frank and Amelia show at five and six? Granted, if there's breaking news, they'll throw it back to the main studio. It reminds one of the 1976 movie "Network", where the evening news is treated more like a variety show. (Wonder why Fox News Channel never thought of that?)
Yes, we know. The news has been edging closer and closer to entertainment for years. Perhaps it's there already. But that doesn't mean viewers should be forced to choose between staying informed and being played for suckers. The Minnesota State Fair is a wonderful event, don't get us wrong. As long as this fact is shoved in our faces every night until Labor Day, it's hard not to feel like Howard Beale
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