Do you remember the days when the news actually made news? Big stories around the world would actually make it into mainstream newscasts and papers. I feel like I used to be so much more well informed than I am now. Have I simply stopped paying attention, or has the news itself changed? I might be tempted to lay the blame on myself, after all, I have not watched the Daily Show in weeks (isn’t that where everyone gets their news?) but after the Michael Jackson debacle I’m pointing my finger at the media outlets themselves. When celebrity sightings, actions, and arrests make the headlines more often than politics, the war, or global unrest I think it’s pretty clear that our priorities are a bit skewed.
Weeks after MJ’s death and just when I hoped to finally get some peace we are still plagued with continuing stories about custody of his children (and can I just ask again, BLANKET?!? Really, you name your stupid kid Blanket? I always thought that was a joke), an unreleased song, old home movies, secret burial, fate of Neverland, the Beatles song catalog, etc., etc., etc. Add to that the Jessica Simpson – Tony Romo break-up which really shouldn’t have been a surprise given Ms. Simpson’s romantic track record, Jon and Kate’s continuing saga, the Bachelorette finale, Kim K. and Reggie Bush’s implosion, sentencing of Chris Brown . . . you get the picture. Is there any damn news in the news anymore?
I have a husband and friends in the military and I cannot find even a simple story when we suffer a casualty in Iraq. I am convinced that the only reason the release of the US journalists from N. Korea was covered so broadly is because it was Bubba who brought them home. Bill Clinton is still treated like a rock star (and I am one of the swooning fans I heartily admit), but if it were someone less media sexy it likely would have run as a single column feature three four pages in. I miss the days when getting an update on the Iranian protests did not necessitate an all-out web search across three news outlets and four TV channels.
True, it is partly my fault in that I no longer subscribe to a print newspaper. The NY Times is my great love when it comes to news, but I cannot abide the amount of paper it requires just to satisfy my lust for the printed word. Instead, I look to online news and the NY Times site is pretty good, though online news still seems to operate on a “news lite” format. The only truly good thing to come out of this is that I no longer need worry that I will be the least informed one at the party. Since we’re all getting our news from the same sources, there is a good chance they are just as dumb as me. If anyone brings up the latest on the on again, off again status of Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green though, I am so in the know!
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