Phenomenon of the News Media Anchor Personality

Amazingly, those manning the news anchor desks of the major network shows, the dedicated news channels, and the business channels, do not seem able to learn from events, history, or the experts they interview. Thus, they cannot distinguish true experts from political bureaucrats and mediocre academics. As news stories develop over days and weeks, the anchors seldom exhibit any deeper understanding of the issues.

This has long been notable in the reporting on the goals for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for the economic issues since the stock market crash of 2008. It is particularly evident with Japan's current nuclear plant problems.

Even as they report daily on how nuclear plants are constructed and operate, they continue with impossible scare scenarios of cancer causing clouds spreading over hundreds of miles, underground contamination of the water supply and crops, melt downs dispersing deadly radiation for miles, etc.  Even Chernobyl, which had no containment structure, is known for not resulting in the wide spread cancer deaths and genetic problems that were prognosticated. 

This phenomenon of dysfunctional anchor personalities/intellects extends to all political issues, from the war on drugs to education mandates. It may be argued that they just want to keep the stories lively and excite an audience, but from many repeated questions and comments they make it is clear that their understanding does not improve from day to day.

News media anchors exhibit a palpable absence of thinking.