The vast wasteland of television news

" After watching the media circus surrounding Scott Peterson's first day on death row, it dawned on me that the television news media are to journalism what World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is to the sport of wrestling: manufactured drama.

" And, when they do cover those important issues - Social Security, the war in Iraq - it is often a regurgitation of the government's pre-packaged news rations, especially when they are framed as a "crisis."

" Take, for example, the lead-up to the war in Iraq and coverage of the war itself. Ask yourself: How would the television news coverage been any different if we had a state-controlled media instead?

" Answer: it wouldn't....