This Just In...

I am a news junkie. Whether it's the outbreak of World War III or a mild rainstorm headed our way - if it's being covered, I'll follow it. I try to limit myself to local newspapers. And, thankfully, we do not have cable (or the cable news networks), so I am saved from being tethered to the television 23.8 hours per day. However, I still check headlines on the internet, watch my evening news (on at both 9:00 AND 10:00) and even make my husband pause in his channel surfing so I can watch the 30-second teaser that they put on during commercial breaks.

I am fascinated by the news, and everything it entails. Do the wardrobe people not see that red is not flattering for Tiffany? Is the mic purposely turned up higher on the sports report, or is John just that much louder than everyone else? Just how do you gracefully make the transition from a story about five people dying in a grisly car accident to a feel-good piece featuring fuzzy puppies and babies? Why is it ok to decorate at Christmas time, but the set remains unchanged the other 11 months of the year? How come they make the the poor weather intern stand in the cold to give his report? I mean, what good does it do us to watch him give a detailed explanation of the situation when we could just stick our head out the back door instead? Hmmm.... Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Of course, the most interesting thing to me is how a station decides what does and does not make the evening news. Since I live in a rural area, there isn't a whole lot going on. We get about two murders a year, and a handful of break-ins. Our news reports are heavy on the 'human interest' stories, and I think that's great. Andy Warhol is attributed with quipping that someday everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. For those of us who live in the sticks it's more like 15 hours. I've been on TV and in the local newspaper more times than I care to recall, and not even one of those was the police report. My husband's been the news, as have all three of our children. It's not that we've done amazingly notable things, you see, just that we've done things others might be slightly interested in, and we're willing to talk about it publicly. In rural Iowa, that's all it takes, and that suites me just fine.

So, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go weed the garden. Perhaps I'll discover a buried treasure or a new variety of insect. It's possible that my tomatoes will be the biggest in the county this year, or that I'll end up with a cucumber with the face of Jesus on it. If nothing else, I can always take my extra produce to the local farmer's market and get a few bucks for it.  No matter what the outcome of my work this afternoon, there's a chance you'll hear about it in our local news at either 9:00 or 10:00, or in next week's paper. Just a few more moments to add to my 15 hours of fame.