Sports and the News: A Stream-of-Consciousness Mini-Rant

Why is sports coverage included in news programs? I try to watch the news at least a few times each week. Our local news covers both national headlines and news from around our part of northern California. Since the show is only a half hour long, the newscasters barely have time to skim over the national headlines. The last 10 minutes is pretty much devoted to sports, and not just the national leagues; high school and college football, volleyball, and basketball are all included. The outcome of such games really affects no one, and there are many things happening in the world that are literally matters of life and death. So why, why, why do they waste so much time covering non-events? I find it rather depressing; after all, the networks only show what people will watch. It makes me think that the majority of viewers out there must either not know about or not want to hear about anything important.

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