If you're anything like me you have a freak-out when you see the news bulletins taking whackjobs seriously. Round the world, every news channel insists on giving waaay too much attention and air-time to crazy people who should never get even a mention or second thought.
The biggest shocker of the past week of course: pastor Terry Pig (I can't remember his surname and don't want to) - the whisky-soak who wanted to burn the Koran for 9/11. The first moment I heard what he was "planning" I knew he was never gonna do it.
I wasn't sure what his excuse would be though and guffawed when he came up with "God". First God wanted him to; and then suddenly didn't. When he came up with it I realised I'd been dense because it was an obvious one. A
whole different topic for another day.
The point being: if none of the journalists or news channels had taken him seriously, he wouldn't have existed. He would have tried his luck and then been swallowed by his murky world of madness.
The main culprit in it: the first news that gave the story importance - they were obviously having a slow news day, got the call (or press release) about him and suddenly it turned into a global phenomenon that everyone decided was legitimate news.
The cool news is that for half-an-hour a week, all this is going to change. e.tv has announced a new Late Nite News, anchored by Loyiso Gola.
The field reporters for it include Riaad Moosa and Jason Cope. A gaggle of comedians. Which means it's going to poke ribs at how ridiculous everything is.
It's styled as a full-on news bulletin (as if it were a serious one) and will be on both e.tv and the eNews channel once a week, on Wednesdays at 21h30.
This from the synposis about it:
"The show will follow a very professional structure, set in a formal news studio, the latest news is interspersed with non-stop tongue-in-cheek one-liners offering viewers a hilarious take on current political and international stories.
Late Nite News anchor Loyiso Gola is known for his no-holds-barred comedy, which will shine through the bulletin. Thrown into the mix are political and social interviews with various guests and Loyiso’s approach is unsurpringly for viewers - but surprisingly for guests - very confrontational and aggressive. Loyiso will blow stories completely out of proportion, with a comedy vibe.
Each episode will end with a 'Morale Index', narrated by the show’s host. Using an animated graphic interface, this segment measures the country’s milestones and failures in the week using a graph diagram."
My take: bring it on! Ideal vision of the future: this becomes the main daily news and gets swapped around with the regular news so that the regular news is only on in a weekly slot.
The show premieres on Wednesday, 29 September.