Talking heads...

While watching my usual morning show on TV this morning, I was surprised to see the anchor that had been covering the terrible floods in Queensland back in the studio at the anchor desk. "What's this?" I wondered, "the floods are definitely not over. Hey, didn't I just see a story on the on-going flooding?" Then I realized, the story he had just reported was that the flood waters had crested and were, in fact, receding. His very earnest field stories had been on the "fear of the rising waters keeping poor Gladys up all night with worry" and documenting the obligatory dog stranded by flood waters in a tree. So I guess now that the waters were going down, there was no more misery to show and keep us riveted to the screen.

"They've not seen anything like this since then, but it was nothing like this," he spouts.

I think the worst fall from grace in this account has been Anderson Cooper, the journalist I probably admire more than any other even before his coverage of the misery in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. His coverage of the US presidential primaries is so inane, so egregiously talking head that even Jon Stewart is taking the piss. Yikes.

But back to our intrepid anchor now in the studio. I observed that he would most likely make it back out to that flooded area again. This time just when the Queensland flood waters subside and the evacuees are allowed back to their homes. After all you gotta be there to document the despair on their faces as they first see the devastation of their ruined lives don't you?

Now THAT, I guess, is news.

- Farmer Ted