BEHIND THE NEWS

Here's a hilarious short video from the BBC's Charlie Brooker, on "How to Report the News." Nicely pops the bubble of the local news, with its inane prefab format. Just plug in a few specifics of whatever issue is being covered, and you've got yourself a news story. 

This also reminds me of Andy Schocken's early 2000s film "Live at Five," a half-hour "newscast" -- really a brilliantly edited assemblage of local news footage from stations around the country. Every clip is totally familiar: the mindless patter of the anchors, news reporters standing in front of unlit buildings to provide "on the scene" coverage, weather reporters out in the snow to tell us it's snowing, and -- most of all -- the relentless and disproportionate focus on cute animals, fires, car accidents, and the weather. How I wish that film were online!