Ten news stories that are new again every year.

Yesterday I was party to a discussion about how the media, at least once per year runs with a story that basically goes, “Why do university academics research ____________?” Fill in the blank with whatever seems to the journalist to be a complete waste of time.

The problem is that newsrooms are always looking for stories. Constant content is a constant grind. And, some things come up over and over again.

 

Here are ten other stories that comes around at least once per year in local media:

Thief ruins Christmas – Someone breaks into house and steals all the presents from under the tree.

Groundhog Day – See the movie of the same name.

Valentine’s Day hard on single people (also Christmas) – Times set aside for family and friends are hard for people who are lonely (Note that the suicide rate during Christmas is, in fact, lower and not higher than the national average).

When the ice is melting in the spring stay off the river/lake.

When the ice is freezing in the fall stay off the river/lake.

Distant events affects local person in some way, not very much actually (local media always wants to make stories local and it’s often a strained connection).

Local business forced to close its doors because it is, um, going out of business.

Healthcare system utterly fails someone for some reason. 

The harvest is ahead/behind schedule and this will have terrible consequences (OK… this one might be unique to Saskatchewan).

Local developer creates an iPhone app that will be huge! (It isn’t).