COMPARE THE NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRER TO OTHER SERIOUS NEWS BROADCASTS

There are two TV networks that raise my ire. One is CNBC with its stable of conservative Republicans adamantly opposed to anything Obama and the Democrats do. And the second is PBS, specifically The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, about which I want to talk in this post.

PBS offers The NewsHour as if it is fulfilling its obligation to present world and national news on weekday evenings. But as far as news content, The NewsHour is a canard. Compare it with BBC World News or with France 24 or even with RT News from Russia. It is then that the shallowness of The News Hour becomes transparent. Why? Because The NewsHour presents not more than five minutes hard news, the rest being low-cost interviews with "newsmakers" or "experts" from PBS studios in D.C.

Then consider the cast of characters on The NewsHour. Judy Woodruff, no doubt a nice person, is hopeless as an interviewer. CNN certainly lost nothing when she left. She'll agree with anything a guest says. Has she any opinion on anything? Is she prepared to challenge some of the outrageous things her interviewees say or claim? I argue she is not.

Then consider Margaret Warner. She asks good questions, but seems not to listen to the answers. A guest can say anything, Margaret Warner will simply go on to the next question.

How about Jim Lehrer? Like the other two, he is hopeless. Besides he comes across as a hay seed.

I submit: PBS should get rid of The NewsHour and start all over again. Look at the offerings of news on Al Jazeera, Euronews, France 24 or RT. PBS has a lot to learn, especially when it comes to representing solid national and international news.

NPR'S DINA TEMPLE RASKIN ON THE NEWS HOUR DOES HATCHET JOB ON THOSE ACCUSED

I just watched and heard Dina Temple Raskin from NPR being interviewed by Margaret Warneron The News Hour about the corruption charges being leveled against assorted New Jersey politicians as well as four rabbis. Temple Raskin gave the impression that she has no understanding of what is going down. Her answers amounted to saying, "I don't know . . .," "This is complicated . . .," and similar statements.

Compared to the article in today's The New York Times written by David M. Halbfinger, Temple Raskin was embarrassing in her lack of information and preparation.

Furthermore, Temple Raskin gave the impression that everyone was guilty as charged, notwithstanding that the accused are far off from having their day in court. The "bribes" were smaller than usual; the kidney selling was "outrageous;" the charges were very similar to previous ones filed against other New Jersey politicians where "corruption" was endemic. What a hatchet job on people at this point who have not pled guilty or been convicted.

NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRER THINKS IT NEEDS TO INCLUDE MEAN REPUBLICANS AND BLUE DOGS IN DISCUSSION ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM

Why must The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer shown tonight on PBS stations insist on trying to be "neutral" when it comes to health care reform? There are some 40+ million people here in the U.S. who have no health insurance, and thus who remain subject to financial ruin in the event of serious illness. The U.S. faces this enormous health crisis with millions uninsured, and Jim Lehrer abetted by Judy Woodruff decide to extend to the Republicans equal treatment on the program tonight, the same Republicans and Blue Dogs who would deny health coverage to the uninsured.

WORLD FOCUS GIVES REPORTS ON GAZA, THE NEWS HOUR GIVES HARDLY ANY

Martin Savidge and WorldFocus do a great job in covering the Gaza story. Consider The NewsHour on PBS. Over the last several weeks, The NewsHour has aired hardly any stories or reports on Gaza other than brief mentions during the news portion at the very beginning of the program. If it weren't for WF, where would we Americans get a picture and a report of the human catastrophe caused by the Israeli war cruelty and Israel's attack upon Gazan civilians and their civilian institutions? Other than BBC World TV News, World Focus is the only source of the news that really matters.

Good job, everyone at World Focus.

PBS' THE NEWS HOUR DOES NOT GIVE THE NEWS

One of the reasons I am not a fan of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is because of how the program treats the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza.

For the last several nights Lehrer and The NewsHour gave zero mention of the conflict, except for cursory treatment in the news summary at the beginning of the program. And tonight The NewsHour extended a two-minute treatment obtained from ITN. At the end of the piece when the ITN reporter described the utter devastation of one particular village in Gaza where Israeli forces destroyed all the homes and buildings, Lehrer had no comment. On to something else. As if the story of utter devastation was a non-story.

This is why I argue for KUED-TV Channel 7 to provide serious international news programs like BBC World News. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer just does not do the job.

THE NEWSHOUR ON THE 15 BRITISH SAILORS

I listened to Margaret Warner on The Newshour last night interview a former U.S. military officer as to the propriety or impropriety of cooperating with the Iranians in the way that the released group of 15 British sailors/marines did recently. But for me that was not the main story. Rather I wanted The Newshour to investigate the discrepancies between the captured sailors' statements while in Iranian custody and their statements at the news conference yesterday in England.

Margaret Warner kept asking the same question, "what may soldiers say or do while in captivity?" This was not arduous reporting. I wanted her to do some hard reporting. As I suggested in a previous blog, I am most suspicious of governments, including that of Tony Blair, spinning what really happened for political or domestic gain. Why wasn't there any report on The Newshour about only six sailors/marines in attendance at the news conference? Why didn't Margaret Warner investigate why Faye Turney was not present to answer questions?