These qualify as "Top Stories"?

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Ted C
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These qualify as "Top Stories"?

Post by Ted C »

This is just a quick summary of news items listed as "Top Stories" this afternoon.
Yahoo News wrote:Al-Zawahri Vows to Keep Fighting U.S.
AP - 58 minutes ago
Osama bin Laden's top deputy vowed in a videotape aired Monday to keep fighting the United States until Washington changed its policies.

Bush Picks Kellogg CEO for Commerce Post
AP - 6 minutes ago
President Bush on Monday chose Carlos Gutierrez, a native of Cuba who rose from truck driver to chief executive officer of Kellogg Co., to be secretary of Commerce.

Ukraine President Endorses New Election
AP - 1 hour, 43 minutes ago
Ukraine's Supreme Court gave the prime minister's legal team until Tuesday to study evidence of fraud presented by the opposition in last week's presidential election, while outgoing President Leonid Kuchma endorsed the idea of a new vote "to preserve peace" in the bitterly divided former Soviet republic.

Court Questions Possible Abuse of Pot Laws
AP - 20 minutes ago
The Supreme Court questioned whether state medical marijuana laws might be abused by people who aren't really sick as it debated on Monday whether the federal government can prosecute patients who smoke pot on doctors' orders.

7 Killed in Army Helicopter Crash in Texas
AP - 35 minutes ago
An Army helicopter carrying seven soldiers crashed and burned in the fog Monday after hitting a support wire on a TV transmission tower whose warning lights had been knocked out in a storm last week, officials said. Everyone aboard was killed.

Court Refuses to Order New Peterson Jury
AP - 2 minutes ago
The California Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from Scott Peterson's lawyers that a new jury be selected to decide whether he should get the death penalty. The ruling clears the way for the penalty phase to start on Tuesday.

No Psychological Exam for Jackson Accuser
AP - 18 minutes ago
The judge in the child-molestation case against Michael Jackson refused on Monday to order Jackson's accuser and the boy's family to undergo psychological examinations.

White House Christmas Tree Arrives
AP - 2 hours, 28 minutes ago
An 18 1/2-foot Christmas tree, pulled by a horse-drawn wagon, arrived Monday at the North Portico, marking the official start of holiday decorating at the White House.

Dollar Worries Keep Wall Street on Edge
AP - 1 hour, 8 minutes ago
Fears of a falling U.S. dollar kept stocks mixed in a volatile session Monday as investors balanced their concerns about rising inflation against a decent start to the holiday shopping season.

ACC Ties Record With Seven Top 25 Teams
AP - 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
Virginia moved into The Associated Press' men's college basketball Top 25 Monday, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference a record-tying seven teams in the poll.
We're supposed to believe that a pine tree arriving at the White House is major news? :roll:

And while I realize that the deaths of a few people here and there are important to their relatives and friends, is it really information of national importance? Does it really matter to me, living in Tennessee, whether Scott Peterson gets a new jury for the penalty phase of his trial or Michael Jackson's accuser gets a psychological evaluation?

Am I out of my mind for thinking half of these "Top Stories" are nationally unimportant?
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Stormbringer
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Post by Stormbringer »

Of course they're relatively unimportant. However people care, lot's of people in some cases..
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Post by Stravo »

Slow news days can be like that.
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Post by Darth Wong »

Sorry, but nothing will ever take the "ridiculous elevation of news to national attention" crown away from OJ Simpson's slow-speed highway chase.
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Post by Joe »

Hell, that was just great TV... :wink:
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Post by Keevan_Colton »

It's just basic news values, you look at your market and figure out what they want and base your news off of that.
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Post by White Haven »

I want to see a news feed on a slow day that just says 'Nothing of any note is happening' and an anchor looking bored out of his mind. Maybe playing Tetris to pass the time.
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Post by Vympel »

The only remotely top news stories I can pick out of that bunch is the Commerce Post, Ukraine, and maybe the dollar worries. The rest are either insignificant, or "nah, shit, you DON'T SAY?" (re Al-Zahiri or whatever the hell his name is).
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Post by neoolong »

What sections are those for? It wouldn't be suprising to hear about say some celebrity gossip as the top story if it was for the entertainment section.
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Post by Trogdor »

Stravo wrote:Slow news days can be like that.
Agreed. As a journalism major, I can tell you, sometimes you just don't have anything except "fluff stories" to fill space and you can't let it be empty.
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Post by Mitth`raw`nuruodo »

Yeah, a lot of news stories are pointless. Once, I saw (no shit) on the top of msn.com, "Sharon Osbourne is not dead."

Apparently someone mistakenly printed an article in a magazine that led people to believe she was dead, or... something. I don't know. :lol:
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