Our Top Story Tonight

...is that Canada is hosting the 2010 Olympics!

No, seriously! Canada--specifically, BC in the greater Vancouver area, will host the Olympics!! And we need to lead the news broadcasts with it, both on CBC and CTV, even though CTV will be covering them!!! Because it's really really really important for you to know that these Olympics, they're coming sooner than you think!!!! In fact, the shebang starts JUST ONE YEAR FROM NOW.

Meanwhile, yesterday stats came out that indicated that Canada is in a trade deficit for the first time in 33 years. Trade deficit! Thirty-plus years!!

How did this happen? How much of it is due to decrease in the volume or nubmer of goods, and how much of it is a decrease in the price of oil? What percentage of trade was cars that nobody in either country is buying?

I wouldn't have found answers to those questions on the news last night (perhaps partly because I was too sleepy to stay up for the whole thing, but still). But I could have watched interviews with various accomplished individuals who are pumped, like, totally pumped and think it's totally awesome that we'll get to compete on our home territory next year. Which is good, because I was afraid that the athletes were, like, half-pumped and thought it would be semi-awesome to compete.

Sheesh.

I realize that everyone has priorities, and mine are usually out of synch with the world around me. I also realize that people would like to "focus on something positive," instead of hearing all the "negative" news about the economy. (I might wonder aloud how Canada will pay for the festivities--because the Olympics has its "negative" news. I might also express a desire to see a story about the economic sectors that are doing OK at this point. Because not everything is good OR bad.)

I also realize that these trade deficit statistics, released yesterday, are thus now by definition yesterday's news.

But honestly. Both broadcasters led last night's evening news with breathless "coverage" of the Olympics. What is there to say? Various entities are spending money that is increasingly scarce to put on a pageant in a year. That's 365 days. Lots more stuff can happen between now and then. Stuff like budget bills passed or not, that reform employment insurance or not, that does or doesn't support people who are out of work, which might or might not be due in part to their own incompetence.

But let's not think about that.

Don't get me wrong: I'm a big fan of escapism. If I'd been alive during the last Great Depression, I'd have been on the front row of the movie theater singing, "Oh, Rio, Rio by the sea-o" along with Fred and Ginger.

But that happened in movie theaters, not news broadcasts. Perhaps news broadcasts could continue to cover business, economic, and social news?

Now THAT would be totally awesome. I'd be pumped.