Flying High Again

Every once in a while, TV news organizations come up with a new gimmick which, whether it contributes to the viewers' understanding of the news or not, catches on with just about every other competing news organization. Obvious examples that spring to mind are the use of Google Maps in news reports, or the cliche of the reporter going outside during a hurricane.

This week before Thanksgiving, the big "breaking news" story was that airports would be crowded, there would be delays, and lots of planes would be in the air (shocking, I know!). Apparently, there are a few websites on the Intarweb which allow you to track ALL of the planes in the air in US airspace at the same time. So all week long, the cable news networks kept running stories which used the real-time image of the US with the thousands of little airplanes, each representing a commercial airliner.

The computer generated airplanes superimposed on the map were not to scale. So what we saw was a map of the US with thousands of airplanes the size of Massachusetts flying around. Apparently, viewers observed/complained, that it looked like these planes were all bumping into each other, so the networks found a new computer graphic template which zoomed in on specific parts of the country and gave the still-out-of-proportion airplanes some breathing space. However, now the little, generic-looking airplanes appeared to going in a vertical direction, as though they were little rockets blasting off into space. I suppose that when Christmas Eve rolls around, and news organizations do their NORAD-inspired monitoring of Santa Claus' journey, we'll see this graphic again and watch as Santa's sleigh weaves in between the static airplanes on the map.

But never mind how ridiculous these maps look, what is the point of using them at all? The fact that there are thousands of planes in the air at any given time is NOT news. The fact that Thanksgiving week is a very busy time for travel is NOT news. These maps, and the "news" reports that use them are useless and a waste of time.

Please, stop it.