Tsunami porn

I won't be too harsh on the, um, tsunami of inane cable news coverage in the wake of Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake. After all, outlets like CNN must somehow fill their 24/7 news holes, especially when actual hard news is initially in short supply during a disaster. Still, I can’t help but shake my head at the endless footage of shaking rooms in Tokyo, looped video of tsunami mud engulfing Sendai, Japan (the coastal city closest to the epicenter), and the breathless reporters on “Disaster Watch” along Southern California beaches awaiting the watery apocalypse that will never materialize. Per usual, it’s 98% melodrama and 2% news. Jawboning about it changes nothing, of course. Still, it’s a pity. The viewing public deserves more.