Yesterday and Today

Going to the gym on Sunday mornings has introduced me to CBS's news show, which I think is called "Sunday Morning." It's news the way I like it: long, exploratory stories that often have real content, not just what can be squeezed between commercials and publicity appearances. It's like NPR on the screen. Yesterday there was an interview with Clifford Irving, the real-life author who perpetuated the Hugh Hefner hoax in the new Richard Gere movie "Hoax."

I recognize that morning tv on the weekdays doesn't have the luxury of moving so carefully through a story, that the networks are battling for the eyes of working people racing around while getting dressed and preparing kids for school, that they are just hoping for a glimpse of weather or traffic or celebrity gossip before running out the door. But does that mean the morning shows have to come across as so dumb? That's what is frustrating. On the other hand, there actually was a piece on the Today Show that impressed me recently; acknowledging that not all Americans are well versed in world politics, the show did a morning segment designed to provide basic background on areas of the world that have been in the news. I don't know if this was for just that one week, or if it's ongoing. The piece I saw explained the history of the Shiites and the Sunnis, and the current conflict between them. I liked it, and felt a little more intelligent after I saw it. Not something that often happens after the Today Show.