In other news, the "local angle" sucks

My least favorite thing about major news stories is the way that local news affiliates are motivated by some insane obsession to find a "local angle" to the story. This is annoying for two reasons: first, it shows a healthy disrespect for their viewers, as if they could only find interest in a major story if it had some connection, however obscure, to their home city; second, the local angle frequently has absolutely nothing to do with the story at hand.

For example, take the (completely laughable, incidentally) case of the four hapless idiots in New York who wanted to blow up JFK by detonating explosives in the fuel lines that feed the airport. Ok, whatever, sounds quasi treacherous, until you realize that the guys are complete fools who lacked the training, expertise, supplies, access, and everything else to pull off this stunt.

But wading into the fray, predictably, comes one of Portland's finest news stations, breathless with news that it has found a "local connection."

Newschannel 8, obtained public records that appear to indicate [plot leader Russell] Defreitas worked for McMinnville-based Evergreen Eagle, a division of Evergreen Aviation.

The record indicates Defreitas worked for Evergreen Eagle from July, 2000 to May, 2001.

OMG! A ten month period of residency, doing something aviation-related! It's like the whole state of Oregon is practically in on the plot!