I am totally sick to death of the "cult of personality" that passes for news in this country. Weeks of Paris Hilton. Months of Brittney Spears. Ongoing 'breaking news updates' on Lindsey Lohan. Wake up, people! They are not news!
Why does valuable news time continue to be wasted on the irresponsible, spoiled, self-destructive behavior of these 'celebrities'? I don't care how self-destructive they are. Personally, if they all disappeared tomorrow, I'd be a happy woman. Having talent (although that's highly debatable for all three, less so for Lohan than the other two) does not make you newsworthy. It doesn't make you a good person. It doesn't make any difference in any aspect of the world.
And please, don't blame the papparazi. These women deliberately court the pack of photographers who feed on them. It is entirely possible to avoid them. Of course, that would mean not going on drunken rampages in public. It would mean not stripping down to your undies in public. It would mean wearing underwear under your too short mini skirts. It would mean being responsible and mature.
And it would mean that the news companies would have to actually report on real news. It's becoming very difficult to distinguish between the nightly news and Entertainment Weekly. When I tune in the news, that's what I want to see. I don't watch any of the entertainment programs, because I have no interest in their subject matter. I don't want it foisted on me during what should be a serious review of the day's noteworthy events. What's happening in the world? What's the news on Iraq, Afghanistan, London, DC? What's going on in India (besides the growing number of Indians who now constitute "customer service" for most major US companies). What's going on on the campaign trail? What's happening in Congress? Where are we on getting out of this disastrous war, and getting rid of this imperial presidency?
It was a disastrous failure by the media that led this country into accepting the Iraqi invasion. The Fourth Estate abdicated their responsibility to report the truth. And now, having realised that, what do they do? They abdicate their responsibility to report the news, and become an entertainment program or rag. It's just sickening.
Okay, we now return to regular programming.
3 comments:
It's not just you. It bothers me every time I go thru the supermarket checkout. If we are what we read, we are eejits.
Christine, I agree with you about the "news." It is not news, it is an on-air gossip fest passing itself off as journalism. No substance, just endless breathless stories about the latest bad behavior of people who, as far as I can tell, make no worthwhile contributions to society. I won't watch, I don't want to add to their ratings.
Amen! Most of what passes for "news" is just trash. Bread and Circuses.... PBS (Lehrer & co) is definitely better,but even they don't cover the international news with any breadth.
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