Thanks, Mad.
They are pathologically self-absorbed because there is nothing else to them. They are ill-educated; they don't read or think deeply, and most of them are criminally stupid, vide, Chris Matthews, Dan Rather...Mr. Courage.
When Christopher Hitchens appears on their "shows," it is too painful to watch. They cannot follow him as he walks them from a basic premise through to a conclusion, since logic is an alien concept to them, and the bumps against reality that logic provides contradict the fakery they pass off as news.
Your news readers were required to have studied history, to know geography, to be fairly literate. It was expected of them to have some understanding of what they were reading and not look and sound like a gormless half-wit pawing his way through a seating arrangement for a state dinner at Buckingham Palace.
Our standards are not so stringent. In America we plump for "perky."
Yesterday I posted on the "Sunday Talk Show" thread that Katie Couric's name is known to more Americans than Oriana Fallaci's. Katie Couric's "news" will not be as vital to the West's survival as even one paragraph from one of Miss Fallaci's books.
I think there's a difference between our news readers and yours - with rare exceptions, they're not celebrities.
There are a few, such as Sir Trevor McDonald, who has led a campaign to encourage the proper use of the English language. John Suchet, an ITN presenter, also moonlights doing work on Classic FM, and educating the public about classical composers. Moira Stewart is an institution - but she carries herself with dignity and grace.
The closest we have to your type of presenter is Jon Snow of Channel 4 news. But Channel 4 is a channel for left wing idiots anyway.
Regards, Ivan