Media Misdirection

So O.J is making headlines again. Just in time, too. We were starting to lose interest in Brittany’s latest public embarrassment and Lindsey Lohan hasn’t inadvertently displayed her “holiest of holies” this week.

This is why I don’t watch televised news any more. It’s also why I tend not to get my news from any source within the US. Apparently (at least according to those in the positions of media royalty), we can’t get enough stories about celebrities behaving badly, even though our country is being lead, merrily, along the path to our own oblivion. I suppose we should think nothing of the fact that we’re at war, and not handling that situation too well.

We shouldn’t care about the free-fall of the housing market as long as Paris Hilton is weeping uncontrollably over being unable to serve her jail sentence in her home, is that the idea?

I, for one, am completely sick of that.

I understand that there are some people who actually want to follow the lives of celebrities. I also understand that some of these people are also famous for a reason. This isn’t lost on me.

I had no problem with the fact that there was reporting of O.J.’s first little scrape with the law. I did have a problem with it making a complete mockery of the media. Okay, he’s been arrested and charged: we don’t need to know every bloody detail of the case. We also don’t need to watch the silly thing. Just report the important updates in the evening news and maybe break in with the verdict.

It was bad enough back then. These days, the celebrity-obsession of the media has gotten more intense, and there’s even more important news to cover.

A few months ago, major news outlets were covering the death of Anna Nicole for days, weeks…I’m pretty sure one or two were edging into MONTHS.

Why?

Okay, she was a celebrity (though I’m not really sure why) and she died. Tragic. I won’t discount that. I expect that to be reported on the first day for a couple of hours on the 24 hour news channels and maybe headline on the nightlies.

But it kept going.

Sorry, but it shouldn’t stay in the news for that long unless three days after her death she sat up and began demanding human brains for breakfast.

I was reminded recently of the film Network.

When it came out, it was shocking.

These days, it may well have been a documentary.