If you aren’t already, then head on over to MSNBC’s live stream of the government’s health care summit right here. As in, stop reading this and watch the video now. Or, better yet, if you’re one of those fancy “multitasking” types—and if you are, you, uh, might want to reconsider—you can read this and listen to the health care summit at the same time.
Of course, MSNBC isn’t the only network streaming the unprecedented debate about the nation’s health care crisis. There’s BBC News, CNBC, Fox News, NPR, The Huffington Post, and last, but certainly not least, CNN.
Indeed, like many others, the cable news network has been streaming the summit over the interwebz, and broadcasting the debate on television, too, where a myriad of talking heads have been adding their precious two cents to the national debate. Because, hey, no one wants to hear what their representatives have to say about one of the most important and divisive issues of our times. They want to know what the person who was yelling at craft services two seconds before air time has to say! Because they’re people too, you know? They’re people, too.
Except that—get this—people do want to hear about the particulars of the health care debate, and where their representatives stand, and what solutions people are proposing. Oddly enough, many users on Twitter have taken to the social networking mecca to voice their displeasure with the amount of chit-chatting that CNN anchors have reportedly done during the historic health care summit.
Now, this may come as a surprise, but the letters “S” “T” “F” and “U” are employed by at least one person. If you’re unfamiliar with the popularly curt acronym—well, we can’t believe we’re saying this, but you might want to spend more time online. (No word on whether eye-strain counts as a pre-existing condition).
Here’s but a sampling of the discontent that has arisen on Twitter with CNN (note: if these are your handles, and you don’t want them to appear here, send us a tweet at DM @CNCollegenews):
@thisisrobthomas: cnn speaking about the health care summit like they’re watching football. hey people, this is not a fucking game. people are dying.
@attila: The spin by the talking heads responding to the Presidential Health Care Summit is totally ruining the moment. Just STFU @CNN
@JamesCHarwood: I flipped over to FOX News because CNN and MSNBC are going to their own talking heads instead of showing the Health Care Summit.
@bondcliff: Watch Health Care Summit on Cspan. CNN, MSNBC and others breaking in with “Scores” every few minutes. They can’t help themselves.
@meatnbread: CNN, why you gotta keep showing this when you break from the Health Care Summit?
@thegriff: Watching the Health Care Summit on Fox News because CNN and MSNBC have chosen to break it up with commercials and commentary. #fail
@DinaMeis Health Care Summit : MEDIA channels need to STOP getting into Commentary & Commericals !!! I want to watch this - @cnn @msnbc
This dissent is all well and good, but what is a humble Tweep to do? One man has an idea:
@thegriff: Call CNN and ask them to stop interrupting the Health Care Summit! 404-827-2600, option 2 then option 3.
Our Take
The possibility that the only successful product of the health care summit is that people are able to tell CNN to put a lid on it strikes us as a deeply ironic development. But hey, power to the people, right?
What are your thoughts on the summit?
)
