The Non-Story Story

I was cruising Tom Walter's Saaturday television column, looking for any news of the goings-on in local television stations, and found nothing. Hah! Beaten by a little Memphis blog and some guy in Alabama.

What Walters did have was a non-story story. His headline was "FCC doesn't prompt change in local news." His story begins:

How do local news directors respond to the current hysteria about "indecency on the airwaves?" Very carefully. But not, they say, any more carefully than in the past.

And it ends like this:

Broadcasters are aware and wary of the FCC's change of direction, but all news directors here say they have not and will not change what they cover or how they cover it.

In between, he talks about the standard care that news producers and directors take with their broadcasts, irrespective of any new FCC scrutiny.

"Local news directors continue to remain careful?" So, what was the point of the story? Reassurance? Filling space?

Phoning it in?

Don't they call these "dog bites man" stories?

He could have told you about the turmoil in the local television news environment. Instead, you got this.