Bullshit News

When I read the story on the front page last month saying the spring floods had washed away much of the area's mosquito larvae and that this would be a milder than normal year for mosquitoes, I just knew that the story would turn out to be bullshit. Or that within days I'd read a story that said the exact opposite.

Now, after the first real summer weekend, it's clear that the mosquitoes certainly weren't washed away, and are heavier than ever this year. Just another case of the news media grabbing some "scientific study," splashing it on the front page, or top of the newscast, whether or not it has any basis of truth.

How to run a news business in the 00's: Just grab yourself a scientific study that has a good headline, and fills 30 seconds of airtime, or 20 column inches of your newspaper. Accuracy is unimportant.

You might as well not even watch or read the news, because chances are half of it isn't even true, anyways. One week a glass of wine a night is a great health benefit. Next week, a glass of wine a night can increase your risk of colon cancer.

Tonight at 11: More bullshit news.