What's wrong with Robin Meade and HLN?

[bspiegel]

A year ago or so, Uncle Stevie extolled the excellence of what was then known as CNN Headline News and its Morning Express program.

The EW column came not too long before the channel was rebranded HLN -- perhaps to bury the implied purpose as a short-term option for television news viewers? -- and it provided some nice juice for the program.

I thought the same thing as Uncle Steve at the time. Meade's pleasant demeanor was supported by solid reporting from Richard Lui, business news from Jennifer Westhoven and even informational weather and travel news from Bob Van Dillen. Only the barely-seen sports was substandard.

Not any longer.

In the last year or so, the station has become a self-promoting arm for itself and CNN, often at the expense of their actual purpose -- to report the news.

Of late, HLN is invading other platforms. Meade, a former beauty pageant contestant, has written a book explaining how to build and leverage self-confidence. I know this because she talks about it endlessly on her program, often noting the book's placement on the NY Times best sellers list.

This week, however, Meade went further. An interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell, who hosts an evening program on HLN and has recently published a book describing her long fall to -- and subsequent rise from -- addictions of various kinds, as well as advice for others on the same topics.

The interview, run during this morning drive-time program, ran through three segments of the program. Velez-Mitchell can be an interesting speaker -- more so when, as is often the case on her evening program, she isn't screaming. But even she cannot hold the interest of a television audience for fifteen minutes.

The president should be so lucky. He rarely gets more than a passing mention on Morning Express.

What is wrong with HLN and its staff? These folks used to toil in quiet, simply delivering a solid product. Now they are simply shills.

What do you think?

[Dana Jean]

I'm finding that Nancy Grace, Velez-Mitchell and Meade are the latest carnival hawkers running their own hour long infomercial (O'Reilly, Sanjay Gupta, who else? throw their books in our faces constantly.)

How many authors would like an hour long promotional platform to sell their wares?

We believe that Velez-Mitchell is trying to be a little Nancy Grace with all her in-your-face bravado.

[Kim L.]

I really miss CNN Headline News. HLN has turned into a lot of noise.

[PatInTheHat]

I'm finding that Nancy Grace, Velez-Mitchell and Meade are the latest carnival hawkers running their own hour long infomercial (O'Reilly, Sanjay Gupta, who else? throw their books in our faces constantly.)

Hey now, just because they have a better dental plan than me....uhhh just because they have a dental plan, there's no need for lowering my past carny life to their level, as we have pride...maybe not a complete set of bicuspids, but at least some pride none the less.

Ya know, I've been a news junky almost all my life, been hooked since Bobby Kennedy was shot when I was only eight.
Walter Cronkite was da man and he's been turning over in his grave ten years before he died.
It ain't been real "news" for quite a while now, news is supposed to only be the facts, who, what, when, where, & hopefully how, and the why is a story for investigative journalism...but now it's practically a continuous op/ed piece.
Sure, some are worse than others, but almost all talking heads ("serious journalist" is a term doomed to antiquity I'm afraid), want to influence what we think and feel about a story, or worse, those personally involved in it.
Then there are those (I think it's the majority) who don't even have the intellect, integrity or gonads (metaphorically speaking of course, obviously not standard equipment) to attempt that, but most are simple dancing bears for the producers, who now just package stories to sell to the masses.
Back in the day, they used to be called reporters, now they're called the "talent"...a degree in journalism isn't even necessary, hell a specialty isn't required either.
On the other hand, how many actually claim to be "serious" journalists, not that they actually need to, afterall we buy the all the hot & happenin', new & improved, gotta have it products the advertisers hawk on their midway's...Winner Winner Winner A Winner Every Time.

I guess (as I understand it) it's now the way of the blogger, credentials not withstanding, I mean really, who needs 'em?...I sure do miss ya Walter!

(now I know I'm being rather harsh, as there are some extremely high quality journalistic reporters out there, but I feel they're the exception rather than the rule, but even they all too often, insert too much personal opinion rather than just sticking to the facts)

[scratchesass]

That's why I get all my news from George Noory

it makes as much sense as the rest of the news out there.........