TV Viewer Bob Cockrum (really.... That's his name) wrote a letter to the local Lubbock paper and gave his thoughts about Today's TV news and the people that work there.

While consultants may not like to read Bob's words, you have to admit, the guy has a point:

Sixty years ago television came into our home, just in time for the political conventions. There was a kind of excitement about reporting that captured my imagination and decided my career path.

Now I’ve virtually sworn off watching television news of any kind, driven to such agitation by the so-called “production values” apparently mandated by corporate consultants.

Basic tenets of good journalism are shunned rather than embraced, such as avoiding spoken clichés (“We reached out to” instead of a simple “we asked”) or visual ones (wading into flood waters to illustrate their depth). Reporters now use overwrought hand and body gestures in their descriptions.

Give me an anchor and reporter who sound like they know what they’re talking about, not ones who want to be chummy. Also, cut the comments after each and every internet video, especially when it’s one “wow!” after another.

Equally irritating are the anchors constantly extending thank yous to the reporters. It’s their job! Worst of all are the commercials inside broadcasts in which news staff participate — all sorts of contests that are really promotions for merchants or nothing more than station marketing ploys to harvest potential advertisers.

BOB COCKRUM/Lubbock