I hate TV news. I’ve hated it even long before I knew why I hated it. As the internet evolves, and as TV becomes TiVo, network news is finally bleeding and dying the horrible death it deserves. Watching TV network news is one of the many social norms that many people blindly accept, not realizing there are better options available.

But why should you avoid TV news? Here are ten reasons:

1. TV News is Designed for TV.

Yes, this seems obvious, but think about it for a second: news is a 24-hour-a-day deal. TV’s job is to turn the world’s events into a half-hour, episodic edition of “what bad happened today,” so that something will excite/scare/intrigue you enough to watch it. Ratings = more important than news. News on TV isn’t designed to educate you; it’s designed to be a TV show.

Does it matter if any news happened? No. Something worth attaching a promo to can always be dug up. Does it matter who gives you the news? Absolutely! It has to be a recognizable face with a $60 million contract, otherwise the news doesn’t happen that day. Ridiculous.

Also, TV news is oppressively negative. For TV, crimes = news and good news = not news.

2. Commercials.

You should hate commercials like they’re a crime against humanity – which they are. They rob you of precious seconds of lifespan. Even if you were going to waste those seconds anyway, don’t let Toyota/McDonald’s/Nike waste them for you.

Solution? Get TiVo, the world’s greatest invention since, well, maybe the greatest invention of all time.

Of course, when you get your TiVo, don’t watch network news anyway.

3. You’re letting someone else choose your news for you.

Being the veteran of several school newspapers, and of course, a columnist now for the Journal Sentinel, I think we should all be aware of this fact. You’re letting your window of the world filter through an unholy oligarchy of underqualified editors and reporters.

These are people with biases, ambitions, dreams and hopes. They’re not here to serve you the best – at least not necessarily. A tenured producer is free to choose whether or not America was successful in Iraq today. If you trust a single news program like NBC, you’re an idiot.

4. It’s from a limited, singular source.

Although you shouldn’t watch TV news at all, if you do you should watch everything. Hypocritical liberals whine about how biased Fox News is, and then completely ignore it out of protest. As if it’s something to be ignored. Study your enemy! Get both sides. Challenge yourself.

Of course, TV news is designed to do anything but challenge you. It’s designed to fit in a single-serving wrapper that can be microwaved and ready in 30 minutes.

5. TV News is biased.

There’s no getting around news bias – none. Not unless there are robots that can magically determine a formula for “relevancy.”

I hope you do realize that when you read or watch news, you’re only reading or watching what is generally agreed upon as news. That segment on Iraq was decided by number of votes in the producer’s room, with a general “tone” to follow in kind. Whether or not actual evidence is there to support you is irrelevant – every reporter is human, even Brian Williams.

6. You’re letting someone else dictate your time and information.

Not only do producers decide what you hear, networks will decide when you should hear it based on what most people are doing. Most old people like their news after Wheel of Fortune? Let’s do that!

The magic of today’s internet is that you can access any news, anywhere, at any time, on your terms. You can even have it delivered to your Google homepage or e-mail address so you have it waiting for you whenever you’d like. Tell me honestly that allowing someone else to determine a block of time for when it is okay that you watch news is the better deal.

7. The Internet is faster.

The internet runs 24/7, and someone is always awake. Special news alerts can be programmed to be sent to your computer, and the CNN homepage is always up-to-date with whatever you’re seeing on TV.

You can log on quick and catch 10 minutes of news reading and have a better idea of what’s going on in the world than the 30 minutes of Brian Williams’ henchmen talking about cars of the future. In fact, you’re free to do your own investigative reporting, as Google allows you to magically search just about anything imaginable.

8. Internet news is easier.

Aside from being faster, internet news is easier. Many old people complain that they don’t understand technology, but if they can figure out TVs and microwaves, they can figure out the internet. They just haven’t been using it, and, as a result, stink at it.

You can easily go to the BBC’s website and insert a feed that automatically loads with your browser every time you’re on the internet. You don’t even have to go to their website for news.

9. Internet news is more wide-ranging.

You can access Fox News, CNN, the BBC, DrudgeReport, Google and Yahoo News, and even BipolarNation at the same time with tabbed browsing. This allows you to get whatever scope of the news you feel you need, whether you enjoy the “keeping the left in check” angle of Newsbusters.org or feel that MoveOn.org should be your home page.

Either way, you’re free to pick and choose who you allow into your life, as opposed to watching CBS and having Katie Couric thrust upon you.

10. Internet news is better.

Yeah, I already made this point a million times, so let’s summarize.

TV news:

• Oligarchy of producers/editors deciding what’s news
• Biased reporters who create “segments” with one strict angle
• 30-minute chunk of time, no less and no more
• Commercials
• Brian Williams

Internet news:

• Hordes of reporters, blogs, and independent websites that all report the news
• People are still biased, but you aren’t limited to them
• No commercials
• You decide how much time you spend on news
• No Brian Williams

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to realize that TV news is a pessimistic, ratings-driven business that may or may not have anything to do with reporting, and that the internet, although not perfect, is at least subject to your nature.