Be conscious of balance in news reporting and watch out for slanted news stories. After all those commericals, the nightly news is only about 26 minutes. As a corollary to the above, remember also that the choice of what goes on the air each night is not a terribly democratic process, but is usually the decision of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather. They may be wonderful journalists, but what's news is still their decision. Be ever mindful that news shows have ratings and sponsors just like all the other television programs.
Viewers are consumers first and interested citizens second.
Stories about the world at peace or people solving problems usually have a hard time making it on screen. It is important to keep in mind that the news need not be an accurate picture of America. On too many occasions, it is not. I am often reminded when I watch the evening news or a program with political content of the actor Peter Finch in the movie Network. Finch played a television news anchor who was slipping into madness.