Proving once again why it is New England's news leader, Channel 7 tonight at 11 rips the cover off this sordid story:

Toothbrush trouble

We use them at least twice a day to keep our mouth healthy and clean, but could your toothbrush actually have a nasty bacteria buried in the bristles?

Yeah, especially if you drop it in the toilet. Amy, however, is in serious denial, addressing an open letter to Channel 7:

... No matter how hard you try, I am not afraid of my toothbrush. I am not afraid of its bristly power to remove food bits from my teeth. I am not afraid of the bacteria that came from my mouth. ...

Oh, Amy! Sure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is:

unaware of any adverse health effects directly related to toothbrush use

But what do they know? This article says bacteria is a serious issue - but one you can deal with by leaving your toothbrush in a bleach solution for a mere 20 hours.

Evan posts the best Channel 7 screen capture of the week. Good thing the woman didn't live next to a shirt factory or a public school.

Anybody remember when Andy Hiller was a respected, grizzled reporter who would always find a way to make politicians look stupid?

Cranky watched in disbelief last night as Hiller tossed a series of softballs at Christy Mihos, including how to pronounce his name ("Mihos"), what his favorite movie is ("Forest Gump") and, best of all: If he could be a car, what kind of car he'd be ("a 1960 Ferrari Spyder convertible"). Oh, he also asked Mihos if he made his millions or had them given to him. Mihos said he made them. Mihos also admitted that in 1972, he inhaled. Based on all this (and answers to similar meatball questions), Hiller declared that his Hiller Instinct is that Mihos could just become our next governor.

Retorts Cranky:

... This was pathetic even for Channel 7. Sounded like one of those sarcastic Q&A's in the Improper Bostonian. ...

Amazingly, Channel 7 posted a transcript of the interview, instead of trying to forget it ever happened.

Things that Suck decrees that one thing that sucks is local newscasts pimping for shows on their networks:

... Channel 4 just did a little report on Boston connections to the new season of Survivor, which of course just had its season premier tonight on CBS. The Apprentice is always news on Channel 7. Ed Harding gets all giddy talking about the happenings on Desperate Houswives. When Barbara Walters has done some lame interview on 20/20, it's news at 11 on Channel 5. Hardly a day goes by when there is not a least one story that is nothing more than a shameless plug. ...

Rachel, Neil and Lillian - Don't click on the Lillian Rose link if you don't want to get really sad.

In the media-criticism angle, raspberries to bostonherald.com for running an entire story about the site without linking to it. Update: They've since added a link. Channel 4 linked to the site in its online story. So did Channel 5. Even the Globe (yes, the Globe) linked to the site. WBZ-AM has the link, although not clickable. Channel 7 did not link to the site, but what do you expect from them?

My standard newspaper-disclosure link.

Rob once worked at WHDH as one of the people who typed in the on-screen text. He says Gross was, to put it kindly, arrogant: Good riddance. Bring me his head on a platter.

Todd Gross speaks about his firing by WHDH:

... As is normal, I was given notice, given time to collect things, and then invited back next week [to take care of personal business]. This happened just prior to the 4pm newscast and was not very dramatic as reported. ...

Via Mark, who says the whole affair makes him a bit nervous about anonymous blog comments.

Amy, meanwhile, hopes Channel 7 makes Pete Bouchard its chief meteorologist:

... Because he rules, and I can actually enjoy watching him if he's on the evening news instead of the morning show. And, while he holds less esteem in my heart, I do hope that things are okay with Todd.

Todd Gross fired? Indeed, Gross has already been snipped out of WHDH's news team Web page - and his bio purged from the site (hmm, maybe he needs to update his book on How to Become a TV Weatherman).

Via Prizm.

Johnny watches the 5:30 news on Channel 7 tonight and finds his IQ oozing under the door:

I'm watching the 5:30PM news on Channel 7, which is making me bleed out of every orifice on my head, and they just ran a tease for a story on Newton being ranked the safest town in America. You mean rich people can buy themselves good police protection? Get the fuck out of town! Caterina Bandini said that "Springfield also made the list, but this one is the list of most dangerous cities." That's pretty funny, Caterina. I'm wishing ill upon you right now. ...

They also did a story about Home Depot building an aquarium for the community...in Atlanta. Because the local news covers...all the shit that goes down in...Atlanta. ...

Someone over at Channel 7 seriously needs to drop the thesaurus or get a new one.

Has anyone else noticed how annoying their alliteration is when they are titling these stories? Especially when there's big news, the graphics people go nuts with alliterating everything. During one newscast we counted at least 7 different alliterations, and this was just one one storm report.

With all the crazy weather we're having at the moment, I think we should place our bets on what the alliterations will be tonight. Here are a few that I've thought of:

Wild Weather
Super Storm
Windy Wilma
Scituate Swamped (or Socked, or Soaked)
Flooding Fears
Traffic Trauma
Trailer Trouble (for the story on the truck that turned over on the Bourne Bridge)
Weather Woes

See how easy (and annoying) it is?