How to fix cable news

Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post - If you watch cable TV news, you might be amazed at how lacking in news most cable TV news outlets have become. In lieu of investigative reporting, in-depth probes and illuminating analysis, viewers get an unending parade of shows with a popular host and panels chewing and rechewing a few of the top stories of the day. At best, they have become news aggregators. After watching a half-hour of one of the shows, you’ll not find anything much different the rest of the day. The same few stories and the same few points get repeated ad nauseam. And I say this as a contributor to MSNBC who appears on these panel shows. It does not have to be that way. In lieu of 90 percent of the panel shows discussing the news, CNN could do serious reporting on real issues (e.g., why homelessness is getting worse, how close we are to “curing cancer”) and devote much more time to international events. And it certainly could spend far less time on meaningless horserace political coverage and polls.