Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Tag: news

  • Why local news is no longer appointment TV for me

    Essay: why I hardly watch local TV news anymore. Hint: no substance.

  • Vintage TV: ABC’s AM America and Monty Python

    A post from 2008, retold. What would happen if Monty Python hosted a morning television news program? It actually happened once. In 1975, ABC debuted AM America, its first morning news show. At about the same time, Monty Python released their seminal film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and were, I’m sure, looking for…

  • Breaking the news of Space Shuttle Challenger

    It was my generation’s “I remember where I was when I heard the news” moment: the day Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in the air after launch. It happened 30 years ago today. My “where was I” story is a little unusual — I was on the radio, and I broke the news to our listeners. That makes…

  • Why local news is no longer appointment TV for me

    The drunk police officer plowed his squad car into two motorcycles stopped at a red light. One rider was killed; two others were injured. A bungled and compromised investigation, continued bad behavior by the officer, and the slow wheels of justice kept this story at the top of the news for three years. At last, the officer…

  • To the New York Times: You’re too expensive

    I get most of my news on my phone. Over the years it’s edged out the more traditional news sources I used to rely on. I gave up on my local paper almost a decade ago. I never watch cable news and almost never watch network or local TV news. I catch an occasional NPR…

  • Vintage TV: Hummable television news themes

    Did you know that all over the country, local TV news viewership is down? It’s way down in every demographic except people older than 60. The older crowd remains stalwart: they watch local TV news. Trouble is, advertisers don’t care about you after you turn 40. If you’re a senior citizen, you’re not making your…

  • Why New Jersey’s anti-bullying law is both too much and not enough

    A few boys started to pick on me a little when I was in the fifth grade. I was never a fighter; I always wanted to get along, and so I always tried to just laugh it away. Sometimes they were a little belligerent, and I tried to keep the peace by appeasing them. When…

  • Vintage TV: Hello News

    Have you lived in a Hello News town? From 1978 through about 1990, dozens of TV stations in markets as large as Dallas, Texas and as small as Joplin, Missouri used a music package called Hello News to open their news programs. News-theme fans (yes, there really are news-theme fans) generally agree that it is…