I hate t.v. news. It's no secret. I almost never watch it - not even CNN anymore. It's not a question of liberal or conservative bias: it's a question of stupidity.

Half of the "analysis" consists of two people on either side of an issue yelling at each other and interrupting. And then there are the stunning inaccuracies.

Last night, because I'd heard about the terrible bridge collapse in Minnesota, I did turn on CNN to get an update. Specifically, I wanted to know if there was a call for people to donate blood...

which is one of the only useful things I can do anymore. There was never any clarity on this issue though a representative of the Red Cross did come on and tell everybody what a great job the Red Cross was doing.

I also learned that Minneapolis had been declared a state. Some man in a suit overlooking a city map referred to "the state of Minneapolis" three times. I know that anybody can slip up when they talk: I do it all the time. But I don't stand in front of a camera and talk for a living. And besides, don't you think somebody should have handed him a piece of paper with a note to get him back on the right track? No wait: that would have been a "Ted Baxter" moment - "This just handed me: Minneapolis is a city."

But what was far, far worse were their reports about the dead and injured.On air personalities gave voice to all kinds of gruesome speculations about the condition of people's remains in cars underwater and unpleasant and terrifying ways to die. I'm not even remotely afraid of heights, and I've never had any difficulty driving over bridges. But after 15 minutes of listening to the wild imaginings of a generation raised on horror movies, I was about to vow never to drive over the water again. No wonder that practically everybody I know is on anti-anxiety medication. I could have used a drink myself.

I can only imagine the horror people felt if they had a missing family member hearing all of this to say nothing about the numbers bandied about, with apparently no regard to the facts. When I went to bed there were "Seven confirmed fatalities". ( "...and that number is expected to rise!" I heard over and over, with a sickening note of barely concealed glee) When I tuned in this morning, there were four.

What happened? Three people came back to life?

It's fine to be "first on the scene" and it's great that citizen journalists provide photographs and video which may help people understand what is happening around them. But it's not enough to have some guy in a tie be the first one to open his mouth and keep on talking even when he has nothing to say or inaccurate, unconfirmed information. Don't just be first - be right.