I don’t often watch the local news at 10 p.m., but last night was an exception. It was like watching a television version of a tabloid. The top three stories on 9News, in graphic detail, were:

  • a search for a missing 8-year-old boy who disappeared on a supervised school camping trip. Was it really necessary to mention he had ADD and his mother was a drug addict who had relinquished temporary custody of him to relatives? And to interview the poor mother on air? What did that add to the story?
  • a man from Texas under investigation for having 38 pit bulls in cages on his property. One bit off a part of his finger.
  • a grandmother who works at the Jefferson County jail is arrested for keeping her grandson in a dog cage for three years when she went to work.

Are we still in May sweeps or is this typical of our local evening news?