Network Morning News Shows Lack Relevance

My d aily morning routine is not unlike that of most people. I get up, shower, dress, eat breakfast and turn on the television to catch the morning news before work. Sadly, however, like an ill-fated wheel of fortune, my remote inevitably lands on one of those ridiculous network morning news shows like Today or Good Morning America.

Every day well dressed, plucky studio anchors introduce segments titled, "Your Kids and the Flu," "How to Beg for a Raise," "How to Dress for Your Boss," or, my personal favorite, "What to Do with Your Extra Money." That one always gives me a chuckle ... what extra money?

Every day morning show producers come up with deep, investigative reporting to once again help convince viewers that they need a new pill, or should immediately stop the one they are currently taking. It is as if the production staff can't make up their collective mind as to whether they would prefer to inform or frighten the viewing audience.

The stories presented are intended to cover the interests of the lowest common denominator of the highest income households in the audience. Focus groups and Neilson ratings are used to determine the average income of likely viewers and advertising sales managers direct their efforts towards securing sponsors that fill those needs.

Sickeningly obvious is the attempt at subtle product endorsement and corporate presence. Parent company Disney uses ABC's Good Morning America as an advertising arm by featuring many of its television and film stars as guests. Stars of current prime time programming also make appearances, particularly when ratings are down on a particular show.

Morning shows are arranged in a television news magazine combined talk show format, including couch discussions reeking of a forced informality and false improvisation. Inserted randomly throughout the morning are short, bullet-point news segments where a traditional anchor person delivers the headlines either standing in front of a huge flat panel TV monitor or seated stiffly behind a clear plastic desk.

One of the strangest aspects of morning shows is what I call the "Oprah moment," often inserted to segue from the final story in the headline news. Meant to seem personal and deeply emotional, the segment will usually focus on an individual or family who is currently in crisis for some reason and making national headlines.

The interviewer sits on a comfortable couch in the studio across from a woman whose son has been injured serving in Afghanistan or a family desperately searching for a missing child. While it's important to tell these stories, it never fails to come across as a gross attempt to exploit these people in the name of boosted ratings.

Even more bizarre is NBC's decision to extend its morning broadcast for an extra two hours past CBS and ABC. The final hour of the Today show offers no hint of substance, instead featuring the pointless babblings of Kathy Lee Gifford and her unremarkable sidekick (whose name thoroughly escapes me).

With absolutely no awareness of her own absurdity, Gifford drinks coffee from a mug with her own face on it, talking about her latest million-dollar outing and serene in a distorted sense of self-importance. With all of the options available to network producers, why is this on television, exactly?

Like Gifford, another thing that could be removed from morning network broadcasts, and entirely without notice, is the national weather report. This gratuitous time-killer is simply meant to remind people that the show is supposed to look like a traditional newscast.

Pointlessly general, the report is pretty much useless since it gives only a vague overview of huge sections of the country. "It's sunny in California ," or " Seattle will see another wet one today." Seeing as how it is nearly always raining in Seattle it's certainly fortunate that some big-toothed, square-jawed weather guy was on the job to say that it was going to happen again.

The only way to improve the morning TV news landscape is by introducing more locally-produced news variety programs. With so many national television and online news resources, local programming would offer a hometown flavor and at least a relevant weather report.

Gery L. Deer is a freelance columnist and business writer based in Jamestown . Read more at www.deerinheadlinesr.com.