The irresponsibility of television news broadcasters never ceases to amaze me.
Exhibit This Morning is Channel 5 in Boston, which just informed my wife and me that a tanker truck carrying deadly something or other had overturned, closing a major highway and forcing the evacuation of a nearby neighborhood.
What the talking head -- a pleasant enough fellow named David Brown -- did not tell us was a) which highway or b) which neighborhood. The reason he did not tell us these pertinent details is not because he and the other alleged journalists who work on this alleged news broadcast do not recognize the value of that information, but rather it is their way of insisting we watch the upcoming round of commercials before learning if we slept through the evacuation order.
We live near Rte. 495, a major north-south thoroughfare; my in-laws live so close to Rte. 128 they can hear the traffic; and, my brother and his wife could have their mail delivered to I-95 just over the border in New Hampshire, so the information being withheld on purpose by Brown and his colleagues isn't necessarily a matter of mere curiosity. However, it is the principle of the matter -- the journalistic principle of the matter -- that most frosts my butt.
Yes, I realize that television news does this kind of thing all the time (with weather forecasts foremost). I also realize that they, like me, depend on advertising revenue to put roofs over their heads.
I'm just saying they might consider making an exception when public safety is on the line.
So, where was the accident? A few mouse clicks shows it was my brother and his wife most at risk, since I'm guessing Channel 5 was "teasing" this wreck, which happened two exits south of where they get their mail.
And I didn't have to watch Channel 5's commercials to find out.
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