Confessions of a news junkie.

I like to stay as informed as I can get. I get the daily paper, Newsweek and The Economist. I have NPR and C-span Radio on during the day. I'm always looking for the best TV news--something that gives me everything but doesn't waste my time. I'd rather not have to watch four shows to find out what's going on!

I compared NBC Nightly News, BBC World News America (BBCA channel) and PBS Newshour yesterday.

Network news just doesn't have the time to tell you all of what's going on--especially when they have to throw in the obligatory human interest stories. BBCA orients its news to the American audience, so it's a fair substitute. And being an hour long they have time for the interview stuff too, like yesterday's comparison of the legacies of Darwin and Lincoln. Newshour is more skewed toward Washington politics and business. But I like their extended clips of Congress at work. Some of their stuff is really dry--and that's what the FF button is for. But some is really good and hits the mark. Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifil are both top-notch, as is the whole team. I think Jim Lehrer asks the best questions of any tv journalist I've seen---well maybe on equal footing with Bill Moyers. And Newshour has some good guests. They have some international coverage, but BBC has a little better coverage. And they have things Newshour doesn't have or can't afford--graphics like the plane that crashed yesterday.

I realized that I can substitute BBC for the networks without losing anything. Newshour has extra stuff and goes really in-depth so I'll keep that one too. Then there is MSNBC--Keith and/or Rachael and/or Matthews for fun.

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