POLICE
CHASES: Why must the television news stations report them live?
[Nyerges
is the author of “Extreme Simplicity,” “How to Survive Anywhere,” and other
books. He is a teacher of self-reliance,
and can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]
Sometimes, I have time to watch television in the
evenings, and there are a few things I look forward to. For example, I really like Doc Martin, the
BBC program about a quirky doctor in some small English town.
But I particularly look forward to watching the 11
p.m. local news, mostly to see the weather reports for the following few days. It gives me a chance to see how my outdoor activities
might need to be modified if there is rain forecast, or high temperatures.
However, for reasons that I have not fathomed, whenever
someone decides not to stop for the police and makes a run for it, we are
forced to watch the entire chase, boring as it usually is.
Last night was no exception. After the first five minutes of the news, and
the weather teaser, we were told that the police were in pursuit of a suspect,
and then we watched from the helicopter’s point of view as four or five police
vehicles followed a van on local freeways.
That meant that for the remaining 25 or so minutes of what was expected
to be actual news, I was forced to watch a scene of a van at high speeds with police
cars in pursuit.
I turned the channel.
I was not surprised – though I was dismayed –to find that every other 11
p.m. news channel was covering the same event, from pretty much the same angle.
Channel 2, 4, 5, 7 – nothing but the police chase! My time was wasted, and I only waited by the
TV because I hoped they’d have some sense and at least cut in and give me the weather
report. At the very least, they could have put the chase scene into a little
box on the bottom of the screen so that those who really got excited by the
chase could see it, and the rest of us could hear the weather report and other news.
I have never been privy to the offices of the news
stations who make such decisions that a police chase is now the top priority
and we’re going to cover it, until the end.
For many reasons, it’s a bad decision, and should be changed.
For one thing, I often wonder if the fleeing person
has a radio or small TV in their car, and is listening to the newscasters who
are telling the viewing audience where the police are located, how many police
are following, and speculating on what tactics the police might use to end the
chase. If I were a police officer, I’d
find this very intrusive of my work. In
some cases in the past, because of the non-stop television exposure, people
would be out on the street, cheering on the fleeing person in some cases, and
generally getting in the way of the police activity. That wouldn’t have happened if the television
station simply reported the news of the chase after it was over, and informed us
about the outcome.
Another reason why I find the chase so mundane is that
the newscaster are practically pulling hairs to keep a conversation going,
especially when it is a prolonged chase.
The commentary is predictable.
Is it a male or female driver? How many people are in
the car? How much gas do you think they have left? I wonder where they are
going? Do you think they will turn around and head back to where they
came? Do you think he has a gun? Is the
car stolen? Can we read the license
plates? Why did they not stop from the police?
It goes on and on, with mindless prattle about the details that concern
the police but not the average TV viewer.
And sometimes it’s worse than that. We watch on live TV as a driver being pursued
hits other cars, hurts people, kills people.
It’s bad enough that it’s happening, but it makes it worse to think that
the pursuing driver might actually be listening to the news report and deriving
some sick glory from all the attention he (or she) is getting.
I think George Orwell would be proud of his ability to
see the mindlessness of the people of the future of which he wrote. When every television station is fixated on
watching the police chase someone, I can only think of Orwell and his
insightful “1984.” Admittedly, sometimes
we are told that the person fleeing is a felon, or has just shot someone, or some
other fact about the matter, though we almost never learn the outcome of the
chase. Sometimes it ends within the allotted
time frame, and often it doesn’t. But
even if we watch a car stop, and the guy get out, and get arrested, it is
always a big “so what?” to me, because we still do not have any idea of the
full picture of what just transpired – and the worse part is that I do not get to
hear the weather report!
Suggestion: Call, write, or email your local
television station, and tell them that you’re not satisfied with the incessant
coverage of police chases. Their contact
information is readily available on-line. Of course, if you like watching such
chases, then do nothing, and everything will stay the same, and I’ll just have
to start looking up the weather reports on-line…
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