Anchors Rant

I've noticed something that kind of bothers me about myself; a lot more Rants than Raves. And though I dislike the fact that I've started to complain more about the things I hate than compliment the things I strongly like...I'm going to bitch again about something tonight.

I'm currently living outside of the city limits. And as such, I'm limited to satellite television rather than cable. This drastically restricts the access to news channels based on the amount of money spent on programming. Admittedly, I lean more often lean toward liberal positions over conservative. But, I have to try to put that on the scales against the $12 more per month that I'd have to pay to get MSNBC. Right now, I get only some local new stations, KTLA and CNN. Oh yeah, that and FOX NEWS! (I'll have to complain about FOX News and their connection to satellite television soon).

Anyways, since the only 24/7 news stations I get are HNN, which runs like 10 minutes of news over and over again all day long, and CNN which claims to be moderate but isn't -- I have to take CNN or nothing. Yes, I know, I shouldn't be watching news all day...but I do.

This is where I finally come to the meat of my rant, the daytime news anchors that I hate. Let's start with the one I hate less (well, of the ones I'm complaining about today). Rick Sanchez. He's so damn pompous it makes my head nearly explode. I can't really explain it more than this, it's just a vibe he gives off. He so often tends to put a sensationalized spin on stories as if each one is a performance that he's hoping will win him the Peabody award. That's all I'm going to complain about with him today because I'd like to spend the bulk of my time on the guy who really pisses me off: Tony Harris.

Tony Harris has disgusted me for the longest time. At first, I was rather indifferent. Then one day, he was interviewing a woman who just had her house burn down with all of her possessions. Everything she'd ever owned was gone. In her arms, she held her 3 year-old son. The boy was obviously traumatized by the loss as well. He was scared, confused and tired. The boy started to suck his thumb, not anything out of the ordinary. It was most likely a habit but could have also been a way of coping with the events of the day.

How did Tony Harris react to this? He yelled at the boy! "Get that thumb out of your mouth!" Not once, but three different times. Do you suppose he yells at someone for crying because a loved one died? Not likely, but he definitely yelled at a traumatized boy who was too young to stick up for himself.

From that day on, every time I see him, I notice so many things that piss me off and annoy the crap out of me. While I'm sure some of these feelings are an overshadowing of the incident with the boy, I think some things would piss off the pope.

Like most news anchors and media personalities, he interrupts his guests. However, when Harris does it, he's loud and annoying about it. It's as if he's only interrupting them to put on a show. Unlike Rick Sanchez, who interrupts to look knowledgable, Harris interrupts to try to look cool. It's kind of like a man having a middle-age crisis who buys a convertable and tries to pick up college chicks. He interrupts only for show.

What is the problem with these dumbass news anchors? Listen, if I wanted to hear opinions on news, I would listen to news programs that focus on such. If you're a news anchor, you're supposed to read me the news as if I were blind, not try to sway me with your point of view. I watch daytime news for a reason - to hear current events - NOT to be entertained. Being a news anchor is kind of like being in minor league baseball. Just do your job - and keep your opinions to yourself!