Local news is garbage.

Who can argue otherwise? Have you watched it lately? What do you actually learn in that 22-minute block?

Take, for example, the recent story about the “suspected Craigslist killer,” who also happens to be a BU med student named Philip Markoff. The local NBC affiliate, WHDH (Channel 7), opened its newscast with breaking news that Boston police had identified the man in the recent homicide at the Marriott Copley. This supposedly “serious” news program featured visually appealing logos and colors that looked futuristic and exciting. You can watch it here.

Then they bring in three reporters stationed, respectively, outside police headquarters, on the BU medical school campus, and outside the killer’s home in Quincy, Mass. Each reporter is supposed to add to the story, to develop the details for viewers. We think we’re watching, after all, to learn about important happenings in the world.

The first reporter, the one at police headquarters, tells viewers little of significance. A few three-second sound bites from Police Commissioner Ed Davis and another officer, a few photos recycled several times during the report, and, as a result, a wildly entertained audience. You think you’re learning, but learning never used to be this exhilarating. The constantly-changing images, the bright colors, and the brief sound bites feel more like Entertainment Tonight.

The second reporter does her stand-up from the med campus, announcing that “shockwaves” hit the school. She interviews three students who didn’t know the suspected killer. “I knew someone who had a class with him and he seemed normal,” said one of the future docs from BU. The other two had just as little to say.

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s two live reports, and zero new information of value to viewers.

The third time’s the charm, though, right? Wrong. If this were baseball, then Channel 7 struck out looking on a fastball down the middle.

The third reporter is live outside the alleged killer’s home. Her report features video and sound bites from neighbors of the alleged killer. One guy says, “He came over the other night and had a few beers and seemed like a nice guy.”

Earth-shattering stuff, really.

Three reports later we’ve learned that the Craigslist killer a) was taken into custody, which the anchors already told us, b) seemed normal and c) likes to hang out and drink beer.

This would be no problem if it were labeled as entertainment. The problem is that television programs such as this one are called news. That’s what Neil Postman says in Amusing Ourselves to Death, a highly influential book written in 1985 that remains as relevant as ever in today’s world of Internet ubiquity. Postman writes that Americans constantly seek to be entertained, which is a problem when it comes to understanding serious matters. Our understanding of the world is composed of fragments that don’t form together into an in-depth understanding of anything; as a result, we know everything about the last 24 hours yet nothing of the past 24 years.

This is exactly why newspapers cannot die. Think about the last time you read the newspaper. I apologize for jogging some readers memories with this mental exercise. When reading the newspaper, think about the amount of depth you receive, the minute details that you discover, and the tidbits of information you absorb that you would normally forget 10 minutes after watching the same story on the local news. Reading promotes long-term learning because you retain information better when you read it rather then watch it. The value in this cannot be overestimated.

Most of us aren’t even aware that we’re letting in the garbage and letting the good stuff die. Otherwise, we’d come to our senses and recognize what a huge mistake we’re making.