Television is a really useful medium. It doesn’t really require you to do much other than switch on, listen and look. Often you don’t even have to concentrate all that much, it is there and you somehow take it in. It is not like reading or even listening to the radio where with less senses being hit at once some concentration and attention is needed. Since I have returned from holiday any fantasy I had that the TV on offer in the UK is miles better than that on offer in the USA has pretty much been thrown out of the window. After all it seems to me that much of what we have on offer is either a direct import, or perhaps just and import of ideas, style or system. One good thing we have (for the moment) is the BBC. I don’t think people realise just how important it is to have one (or a few channels taking account of BBC2 and the digital output) channel where the only adverts are for themselves, where at least some serious debate can take place, where good period dramas are shown (Little Dorrit is the latest) and where good comedy and drama often starts.
TV, during our trip was useful for watching during the night when we couldn’t sleep, and for when we were chilling out at our cliff house after dark on the second week. What you get though is adverts (and lots and lots of them, I will probably do a post on medical advertising soon), news channels and crime programmes. There are probably other programmes (well there are religious ones and there was baseball) but it was hard to find them between the news and crime shows. Of course we have at least 10 24 hour news programmes ourselves now, repeating what is often drivel and interspersing it with comment so that you don’t know where fact ends and fantacy begins. We also have crime programmes (I can’t say much as hubby has become hooked) so much so that we saw the same episode of CSI in California and then again in the UK about 4 days later (saw, didn’t watch I might add).
The most noticable thing is the insular nature of US news reporting. The USA is a big country, but for the main part the news on offer is regional so that apart from politics and business you wouldn’t know what was happening in a neighbouring state let alone country. Before we left home there was a news report on a man being struck by lightening at a gas station in New York state. Days later in San Francisio this was one of very few out of state non election / baseball / credit crisis stories mentioned. This is not however to excuse the UK news becasue they are just bad in other ways. A story erupted this week about 2 radio DJs who are also kind of comedian in their own rude and wacky way causing offence to a (now elderly) actor and national treasure. We have been subjected to day upon day of analysis and opinion culminating in high profile resignations and suspensions while more important stories have been ignored or relegated to a small 30 second slot. Plus we have to listen to analysis of the election, a bias for Obama and daily self perpetuating ‘credit crunch’ doom and gloom.
My considered opinion is that as nations with some seriously good actors and journalists we most definitely could do better and whats more we ought to!
