The day the news died….

Remember that Don McLean tune about "Miss American Pie" and "the day the music died"?

The part about "the music died" keeps remembering me when I scan the political headlines on websites like TheHill.com and WashingtonPost.com and Politico.com  and HuffingtonPost.com and, well, you name it…..the news has died.

Today it's again flamingly obvious that substantial reporting about the candidates' policies, programs and philosophies has pretty much ended.

The news media and the cable TV talking heads now seem to be fully obsessed with campaign tactics, poll results, endlessly dubious speculation about "what [name of candidate] has to do to win" and gotcha headlines like this morning's top-of-the-page item on Huff Post: a great big candid pix of Romney in his campaign plane, with his mouth wide open, and a headline that says "Uh Oh"…..

"Uh Oh" indeed.

The media are in full "horse race" mode, bringing us interminable useless details about whose ad campaign is revving up, and Pelosi's wistful optimism about regaining control of the House, and "Romney camp facing test from Obama's ground game," you'll have to read that one to try to figure out what it may mean….

Seems like the full range of reporting consists of the media, the pundits, the wonks and the blogosphere trying to figure out RIGHT NOW who's going to win on Nov. 6.

I don't think that's their job.

I think they should be digging in, deeper and deeper, to assess and explain what the candidates have done and what they intend to do if elected.

I think they should be putting out more and more information that will help each of us make the choice—President Obama or Romney—instead of trying to guess who the winner will be.

It's our job to figure out who's going to win.

What is the news media's job?

Rx for news media coverage....

Political news coverage, is it changing?

It's not a horse race