What's Wrong With The Media?

A little background may be in order so as to understand my critique. I get the low end package from Dish Network as I generally think what cable and satellite TV gives out is a scam on the public; i.e., mostly garbage what with cartoons, auctions, christian networks and lousy news.
So the only news I get is CNN, which when they aren't obsessing about some disaster does give some news--over and over again. This week-end is pretty typical of CNN and their version of what news should be. The whole week-end was blanket coverage of "Search the Mountain". Shaky views of Chinook helicopters and climbers, repetitious interviews with climbers who had spent days in snow caves, incessant press conferences by National Guard personnel--everyone who may have had some experience on a mountain was covered. What wasn't said was that the lost climbers made a basic mistake that ultimately caused a tragedy and that was they took the mountain and weather for granted. It should not have happened. They did everything "right" but one thing and that lead to disaster. They cut corners by not giving themselves time to get out if something went wrong; and it apparently did. They put themselves in mortal danger by hiking just before a deadly storm was about to hit. A real tragedy. Now back to CNN.
They view the news as entertainment, something to keep people distracted, rather than what it should be, education and information. Instead, we get titillation, endless rambling, and stories. The "story" is what is important--not the information. It is a mad scramble for the "story"; the Holy Grail of news. Is this what they are teaching in Journalism these days? Drama instead of intelligence? When drama takes precedence over information the Press isn't doing its job.
Another gripe. CNN talks more about what it is going to talk about than what it does talk about.
Endless self-serving leads to upcoming stories, which often are the last items to be covered.
And talk about aggressive women news expounders! They cut in talking over guests answers, "shaping" the answers, posing rhetorical questions. That's not news folks that is making the story, not reporting it. Lets get back to journalism, at least an ethical version of it.