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Leave Tiger ALONE!

Tiger Woods crashed his escalade into a fire hyrdrant...and a tree. Big Deal! This happened like 5 days ago, yet everytime you turn on the TV or look up something sports related on the internet you hear more about the crash, his wife, and almost anything else that you don't really need or want to know about the world's best golfer. One of my best friends ran into a fire hydrant a couple of years ago...how come THAT was never in the news?

OH No Paula Deen!

Chef Paula Deen got an unexpected serving of ham, across her face! Some one was passing a large ham across her like a football and smacked her in the face accidentally. Please tell me if you laughed by this picture, it's sad but pretty funny. Let me know what you think about this so called "breaking news".

Free Ads for Disney

Disney is releasing a new video game in which Mickey Mouse will be less cordial. What's the catch? The game releases next year! Why did this story merit front page coverage in the New York Times? Where is the timeliness? Maybe next year when the game is released, the Times can write a nice article and tuck it in the business section. But, this article is simply a free ad for Disney!

http://http//www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/business/media/05mickey.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=MIckey%20mOuse&st=cse

Toothpicks for Acupuncture?

Another ridiculous news article discussing the possibility that toothpicks can be used in place of needles for acupuncture purposes. A study showed that patients who received the treatment using toothpicks and not puncturing the skin felt the same amount of relief from pain as those who had traditional needle acupuncture. This is a pure human interest story. Doe human interest equal news? Comment and let us know...

Fort Hood, STOP the coverage!

A recent google news search produced over 25,500 hits for the key words "Fort Hood." I understand that this was a national tragedy, and at one point this story was very newsworthy. But, this story has gone on way too long! The news media continues to exploit the tragedy. Lay off and let the wounds heal. Besides, I'm sick of hearing about it.

Courthouse Pranks

In this article we are told that personnel at a courthouse had fun playing pranks on the FBI, and one person ended up turning some information over to the FBI. However, we are not told what. There is no information in this story. Maybe a slight smile over the pranks--but is this newsworthy? Let us know.

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/1049858.html

Celebrity Burglary

Who wants to hear about celebrities who are robbed? Things are stolen, just like thousands of other homes across the United States. No celebrities are even talked about extensively. Take a look at this link, and tell us if you think this is news worthy...

May I take your "spoken" order please?

but the parents are saying their boys are getting a bad rap for their bad rap." Read the whole article if you want, but there's much news in it.

Um... that's not news

TMZ= Thirty Mile Zone.

They have a website, they even have a show- at noon- when most stations are broadcasting real news. But no, what is TMZ talking about? Celebs, ya'll!

Why?! WHHHHHY I ask you? Why is this news? Why do people care that Beyonce and Jay z went out for lunch and left a big tip or that Patrick Dempsey was seen coming out of a grocery store? I mean, these people are human beings. Need we forget? Have people become so used to hearing news that isn't news that this has become the norm?

What do you think?

Check out TMZ here and tell me if you think it's news or not.

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Good Morning America anchors demonstrate office game on national television

Recently on Good Morning America, there was a 4 minute segment on 'Newly Invented Sports...Fun for All'. This story included interviews with college students and their newly invented sports. Greg Manly, inventor of Circle Rules Football, comments that this games "levels the playing field for athletes and non-athletes." It is reported that Circle Rules Football is played all over the world. I am not sure that spending four minutes on a new sport invented, then having the anchors demonstrate the game is news worthy.

Viral=News

Often when something goes viral it becomes news-simply because of the popularity. In this case, it was a Microsoft Marketing maneuver in Germany. In this YouTube video a man slides down a super slide, goes flying through the air, and lands in a small swimming pool. Watch and enjoy!






When people saw this video, they couldn't believe their eyes. Was it real or fake? It was even discussed in the news under the title megawoosh...

Ice Skating Bear?!

An ice skating bear kills russian circus director. Really?! Really?! This is news? I'm not really sure how this qualifies as one of CNN's top stories of the day, but apparently the world needs to know about circus bears gone wild.
Do you think the world needs to know about a crazy circus bear?

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/world/article.html?Ice-skating_bear_kills_circus_trainer&in_article_id=756398&in_page_id=64

H1N1 shots

How long is something news?? Recently, all I've ever heard or read about in the news is H1N1 vaccines not being available. We all know that people have run out of flu shots. We are well aware of this! So why have these shots been the story for the last few weeks? What do you think- how long can a story run before it's not news anymore?

Does sexy really equal newsworthy?

This one comes all the way from the Northern Territory of Australia. The headline reads "Sex act driver loses control." A short article follows explaining how a drunk couple engaging in "more than kissing" (as one CNN reporter put it from whom I heard about the story) was involved in a minor accident. And well... that's it. That's the whole story. Then, the article quotes the Police Duty Superintendent warning against inattentive driving saying next time it could be worse.
I guess there isn't much to report on in the Northern Territory, or maybe someone was trying to sell a newspaper with sex (the first word in the headline) instead of news.

Bear Convicted of Stealing Honey By Court

A bear has actually been tried in court for stealing honey from a beekeeper. The case lasted over a year, with the bear being excused from attending court. As a result the state has to pay for the damage on the beehives done by the endangered bear.

Not news... but funny

I grew up in Indianapolis. Everyday in the IndyStar, they have a section called "Let it out." People write in and say one liners about their day like- "Why is the line so long at Starbucks to get expensive coffee?" Or "thanks to the person who let me out me have the awesome parking spot at Walmart today." Not news at all, but always the highlight of my day. Have something you want to let out? Email it to us at comms101fall09@gmail.com and we'll post it!

Balloon Boy Hoax?

This is a story about a giant Mylar balloon taking off in a family's backyard in Colorado and the parents suspected their 6 year old son was on board. A couple hours later the boy came out of hiding from the attic. Now questions arise as to whether or not this was all made up. Who cares?! How did this turn up on CNN International? I would think local news but not International!



UPDATE: IT WAS A HOAX!

Only Wire

John and Kate Plus Media

Ok, I realize it's originally from People magazine but come on, it should not be one of CNN's breaking news stories.

John stole John and Kate's money.

Big deal, Kate stole John's self-esteem.

And TLC stole John and Kate's marriage.

Let's move on.

http://bit.ly/16991o #cnn