Television and newspapers are as divergent as men and women.

Now, you take TV with all its commercials, most of which are timed to interrupt the flow of dramatic interchanges at each of its varied and monotonous climaxes. These occur with disgusting regularity.

Those ads are timed so that the maximum dollar can be realized in payments from the different sponsors.

Often times the viewer is "treated" to as many as five or six various sponsors at each interruption of the program flow.

In sports it's even worse, when they make a "Bell South" call to the bullpen for a relief hurler during the action of a baseball game.

And football viewing is even more trying on the nerves with commentators taking over the commercials to be aired during play action.

Officials in zebra-like wardrobe will often signal a time-out for a plethora of advertisers to have their products shoved at the viewers, even halting action on the field of play.

This maneuver could cut off the momentum of a team's drive for a touchdown; it often leaves players standing idly by, and sometimes interviewing each other. The time-out many times is so lengthy that the actual rough and tumble of the action has proceeded, leaving one to wonder what he missed.

Thus is the TV viewer force-fed a dose of commercialism that is hard to swallow.

On the other hand, we have newspapering that also features many advertisements; but there's a difference to be considered here.

One can pick whatever he wants to read, be it commercial advertising, news stories, feature stories, editorials, sports or social reports, and read them at his leisure.

In other words, newspapers do not force feed their subscribers, but leave the reading public to its own devices.

There's a decided difference between the two media that court the reading and the viewing public.

On the video side, you may select whatever program suits your palate, with the full knowledge that about 75 percent of each presentation will be interrupted with ads.

On the other (newspaper) hand, you are given a full range so far as indulging in your favorite (of many) appetites you wish to placate.

As our late, beloved, Lewis Grizzard once said, "TV is a vast wasteland."

Ann Landers said, "TV has proven that people will look at anything rather than each other."

Fred Allen said, "Television is a medium because anything well done is rare." He also said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of television."

In my famous quotes book, I was unable to find anything adverse about newspapers. Being of the latter persuasion (newspapering), one might judge me to be partial, and if this is so, so be it.