When I first posted my column Thursday lamenting the habit of local TV health reporters to retrack nearly word-for-word stories prepared by other affiliates and news services such as Ivanhoe Broadcast News, I got an interesting email from an out-of-town TV professional who suggested the rules of TV news have changed significantly in the last 15 years.

This person tagged the blame on the preponderance of sales managers becoming TV station general managers, the pressure to squeeze more money out of understaffed stations and the flood of veterans leaving the industry -- leaving younger executives with less grounding in ethics.

My email pal, who shall remain nameless, also provided a funny list of rules -- old school TV news vs new school -- to illustrate how much things have changed. To preserve this person's job, I pass the list along without attribution as a little bit of funny you can take with you to enjoy the weekend... 

Old rule: news is news.  New rule: news is marketing.

Old rule:  news is never old  New rule:  news has an expiration date

Old rule:  live shots compliment the story  New rule:  live IS the story

Old rule:  weather gets the attention it deserves   New rule:  rain is a lead story

Old rule:  Cover the issues    New rule:  cover the emotions

Old rule:  Staff experience is valuable  New rule:  1 year is experience

Old rule:  Cover breaking news  New rule:  make up breaking news

Old rule:  Build credibility and you'll gain a bigger audience   New rule:  Reach more people through the Internet

Old rule:  Be good storytellers    New rule:  more stories, less telling 

Old rule:  Report the facts    New rule:  report what people say

Old rule:  Follow the news director's lead   New rule:   Who's the news director?

Old rule:  Consultants suggest   New rule:  Consultants control

Old rule:  Ratings rule   New rule:  Demos dominate

Old rule:  Know your community   New rule:  know your research

Old rule:  Bad staff behavior is not tolerated   New rule:  address your questions to our attorneys