Television News Critics of television news often complain that new programs do not make enough of an effort to inform the viewer, that the explanations they give of events are too short, too simple, lacking depth An or misleading. Critics say that when a person wants to get a comprehensive report of an event, he or she must turn to a newspaper, television news offers only simplified stories rather than denser H and more detailed accoun Television news, argue the critics, concentrates mostly on stories of visual interest such as transport disasters or wars, leaving important but visually uninteresting stories such as government budget and legislation stories with little or no coveras e, This leads to the claim that the selection of stories to be presented on television news tends less toward information and more toward entertainment. Thus, television news, according to this view, presents an image of the world that is quitesubjective. The reporting of political stories on television, in particular, is often criticized for failing to be either comprehensive or fair to the viewer. The main complaint is not that the news is politically biased, but that the limitations of the medium cause even important stories to be covered in as little as 60 seconds of broadcasting time. A politician is seen on the news to speak for between 10 and 30 seconds, for example, when in fact he or she may have been speaking for many times longer Critics complain that viewers get used to seeing such abbreviated stories and thus become less inclined to watch longer, more thorough discussions of issues. Indeed, politicians, now long