Never before in the history of media has "news" been such a loose term: Election 08, page one. Paris Hilton's social life, page six..dont' even ask which gets more hits on Google...But not only has the content of 'news worthy' information changed, the number of news outlets has grown exponentially. From blogging, to MySpace, to news updates texted right to your phone, we have access to whatever we want to know, the second we want to know it. Strangely, though, a shift in what we want to know seems to be taking place. Our society seems to have become more dependent on People magazine for their news, and less on, say... The Kansas City Star? Maybe it's because celebrities losing their minds and forgetting their panties is more exciting then our occupation of another country; maybe it's because seeing famous people slowly (or not so slowly, cough*britneyspears*cough) destroy their lives gives the average joe a little hope for his own. Or, maybe it's just the way I perceive things and I'm only one who has an issue with the direction news is going. But it's undeniable; celebrities and their indiscretions are filling air waves like never before, and their doing it like it's going out of style. Reading about them in US Weekly is one thing, but celebrity news coverage is creeping into every form and section of media. Watch CNN or your local news on any given night and count how many celebrity scandals are reported on. It truly blows me away that Nancy Grace can go from discussing Hillary and Barack in the election to Lindsey Lohan's latest rehab stint at the drop of a hat. On the totem pole of pertinent information, is Lindsey Lohan really only fractionally less important then the next president? Scary. Who knows if this creeping shift into gossip news will ever end, and more importantly, who knows if anyone will ever want it to. Obviously people are watching, i mean celebrity coverage has gained airtime for a reason. So I guess that leaves us knowing only one absolute; news is what we the reader makes it. We are going to read the stories that catch our attention, however that may be done. I may be interested in one thing, you another... either way, news is out there and if it's important to you.. then rock on. Keep reading, watching, listening too... whatever it is that's news worthy in your world.
Losing. Not Loosing.
This blog hits the nail right on the head, Emily. Our society's priorities are so scrambled it's sad. Nicole Richie's dress size is not news, it's entertainment. Unfortunately, the line between the two seems to be disappearing.