Take THAT Television

It's been ages since I filed anything away here. My media research has slowed to a crawl thanks to busy days at work and a desire to NOT stare at computers when I get home.

Here's a great essay by John Hockenberry called You Don't Understand Our Audience: What I learned about network television at Dateline NBC.

Hockenberry is a former Dateline reporter and takes a strip out of television news with a well-written view of its audienceness.

A Simpsons episode comes to mind. Remember when Uncle Herb was complaining that his engineers were telling car buyers what they wanted instead of listening to them? Get the sense that this is what modern news reporting is doing? Instead of reporting, its tailoring information based on demographics.