I used to watch the world news on a non-commercial channel on TV at least three times a week, wanting to stay in touch with the latest events in the world. But at some stage I got annoyed how the station, which always had a lot of credibility, started censoring and chopping everything up to fit in banal incidences. In a typical one hour broadcast, you now get 15 minutes of news from around the world, and the rest is filled in with sport and the latest celebrity scandals. What happened to this trusted station? Do you still watch the news on TV?
I rarely watch the news anymore or even tv in general, since I'm online most of the time. But like you, I also notice how there are so many commercials and less news being aired. I also notice that sometimes the news are even pointless or trivial, like some celebrity tidbits that does not really deserve prime time airtime.
No, I don't watch news on the TV anymore. Not that I am annoyed watching them, that I have strong complaints. It's just that for now, I don't have much time. But I do read newspapers. That's where I get myself updated. When I am free, it happens that there's no TV for me to watch but there's a newspaper to read and a chance for me to have update myself to social events. It's when I am in school, during my break and waiting for my next class. But personally, I enjoy reading news than watching news on TV. Not only I am able to hone my reading skills, I also get the chance to hone a writing style that would fit my personality.
My ex got me on watching the AM news. At first, I enjoyed it because the newscasters were a diverse bunch and the news being reported also reflected the entire community, not just the good or bad parts. However, they have also done a lot of experimenting that the kids call an epic fail from go. One person had a section with their dog. Then when it came to celebrity interviews, everyone would sit on a large couch but it was easy to tell who was bored because they looked like they were going to sleep on camera. Today, there was an astrologist that sounded like she was rambling whatever. Boooo!
I would have to say that most of my local news channels are very professional and do a great job of broadcasting both the local and International news that they cover. When it comes to a national news channel though, I would have to say that NBC is one of my favorites. I also watch it online because I like the way that they break it down into different segments that I can go back and check out again in case I happen to miss something.
I rarely watch the news on tv because when it comes to timeliness nothing beats reading news online. I never really watched my local news because it was a joke, dumbed down stories, stupid back and forth between the anchors it was really embarrassing (and I live in one of the largest cities in the country). I do still watch world news in the evening, it's not the best but I have this odd attachment to it.
Haha, trust be told I almost never watch the news on TV. Most of my information comes from sources like reddit and alike. That said, I'm reasonably satisfied with news programming up here in Canada and the CBC is one our government funded network which can hold its own on the air waves. If I'm not mistaken some US states also pick up on this station. Local news is just okay, but overall I find news networks in general tend to sensationalist things to an extreme just to compel people to watch. Hence why I prefer alternative means of getting my news.