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Saturday, September 12, 2009

News You Can Use?

In case it has escaped your notice, the Solipsist is a bit of a news-junkie. We feel a bit "off" if we don't at least skim the day's headlines. Part of this is a function of our lectaholism (copyright!)--an addiction to text and reading. But it also has to do with our desire to be "in the know"--to make sense of the world around us.

It struck us, though, that little of what makes the news is of vital importance to our day-to-day well-being. Consider, for example, the featured contents of the front page of today's New York Times:

"A Year After a Cataclysm, Little Change on Wall St."

"Lehman Had to Die So Global Finance Could Live"

"9/11's Litany of Loss, Joined by Another Name"

"Company Kept Kabul Security Contract Despite Record"

"U.S. to Accept Iran's Proposal to Hold Face-to-Face Talks"

(Digression: Brace yourselves, folks. How long until prominent conservatives seize on THAT one to point out that Obama is, indeed, a secret Muslim and Osama bin Laden's half-brother? EOD.)

"Groups Back Health Reform, but Seek Cover"

"U.S. Adds Punitive Tariffs on Chinese Tires"

"Jeter Passes Gehrig as Yankees Hits Leader"

More or less interesting? Sure. Nothing gets our day off to a crisper start than a juicy tire-tariff story. But is any of this information vital to most readers? Maybe to Derek Jeter, but he and his loved ones probably already knew about the hits record before they read it in the paper. And even if you admire the Yankees' shortstop and congratulate him on his achievements, you could probably have safely navigated whatever obstacles life might have had in store for you without knowing this particular bit of baseball trivia.

(Digression: Well, maybe not. There was the time when a mugger brandished a pistol at the Solipsist and threatened to shoot him in the head unless he successfully named the starting infield for the 1986 Mets. But we imagine that sort of thing doesn't happen too frequently. EOD)

We thought of this last Tuesday when we saw the headline of a local northern California newspaper: "Bridge Closed." The Bay Bridge, which connects Oakland and San Francisco, closed at 8:00 PM on the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend. The bridge was scheduled to reopen at 5:00 AM Tuesday, after crews had completed some major structural work. On Monday evening, though, Caltrans, the state's transportation agency, repored that the work might not be completed in time for Tuesday morning's rush hour. Obviously, this would be a traffic nightmare, and people would need to adjust their commuting plans accordingly. So when we saw the Oakland Tribune's headline, we thought, "Wow, this is actually helpful information. This is news that will benefit the paper's readers. This is what newspapers should be about!'"

The only catch? The news was inaccurate. By the time the paper hit the newsstands--or at least by the time most people were hitting the roads--the bridge had, in fact, reopened. So much for news you can use.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to run out and buy some tires before those tariffs hit!

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