Stories in the Media Rant... [Archive]

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Gregg

2-20-13, 10:27am

Every so often I just get mind boggled by the story selections in the mass media. This morning on Today the big lead story was whether or not Oscar Pistorius would be let out on bail after being accused of shooting his girlfriend. Seriously? That is the single biggest news story on the entire planet today???

I know, I know. Nothing new. The cult of celebrity really is that strong. The mass media, all of it, pulls this stunt every day. I'm convinced that North Korea nuking Japan would take a back seat to who got nominated for best key grip operator in a supporting role. I'm sure the producers of the "news" are bummed to have to spend the 8:30 - 9:00 time slot talking about a city block in Kansas City that blew up last night or the gigantic storm system that is moving across the country or the atrocities in Syria continuing or the evidence that China is continually cyber-attacking the US or that 8 people were murdered in Chicago in a single day (none with assault rifles, btw) or that almost the whole government of Bulgaria resigned or that Google hit $800 or that VP Biden told us all to buy shotguns to protect ourselves or... None of that is as important as whether one famous guy in South Africa gets out on bail or not.

I'm not surprised, only trying to solve the paradox of whether the media sucks on its own or if it sucks because the audience demands it. The chicken and the egg.

MaryHu

2-20-13, 10:49am

Dude, you totally left out the biggest story of all: The Kardasians latest hairdos! (Who are those people anyway? Are they the same ones who were always giving the starship Enterprise such a hard time?)

Florence

2-20-13, 10:53am

Gregg, you made my morning! Sports + Celebrity = News. :(

Blackdog Lin

2-20-13, 10:57am

Oh good one MaryHu. :D

And Gregg: good rant. You're totally correct, of course. I've personally never understood this whole cult of celebrity thing.

Rogar

2-20-13, 11:00am

The good news is that there is a choice not to watch any of that. The bad news is that it is what a lot of people want to see.

Gregg

2-20-13, 11:11am

The good news is that there is a choice not to watch any of that. The bad news is that it is what a lot of people want to see.

Both true. My problem is that I actually do want to know and enjoy knowing what is going on in the world, but just don't give a rat's pituti about anything celebrity. Oh sure, with a little work I can sort it out online, but it would be nice to have a leisurely cup of coffee and listen to a few articulate people with good hair discuss what is happening in the world. I'm just lazy that way.

pinkytoe

2-20-13, 11:46am

Listening to media these days is like eating junk food. It is addictive until you decide it is not good for you. Turn it off!

peggy

2-20-13, 2:10pm

Both true. My problem is that I actually do want to know and enjoy knowing what is going on in the world, but just don't give a rat's pituti about anything celebrity. Oh sure, with a little work I can sort it out online, but it would be nice to have a leisurely cup of coffee and listen to a few articulate people with good hair discuss what is happening in the world. I'm just lazy that way.

Hey, watch/listen to PBS. They might mention the celebrity story, as it is news I suppose, but it won't be the top story, or even in the top ten. I love McNeil/Lehrer (without McNeil, or Lehrer as it turns out) Just good, thoughtful discussion.

The Storyteller

2-20-13, 2:25pm

I should think violence against women and gun violence are pretty germane topics. Not to mention the pitfalls of elevating sports figures to heroic status. If the death of a beautiful woman at the hands of a famous athlete brings them to the fore, then so be it.

A better example for your point is the harassment of celebrities by the media to the point they take mild forms of violence to stop it. The Alec Baldwin story ran in a loop on GMA ad nauseum yesterday morning.

ApatheticNoMore

2-20-13, 2:52pm

Yea celebrities are boring and I don't think they are a very good lead in to anything, since they are very particular cases and what you want is the big picture: big stories that affect large numbers of people, statistics, trends, analysis etc..

I don't think ANYTHING on t.v. provides good news if you want a complete picture, no not even PBS which is pretty corporate in it's own right. But any of it could be a harmless *supplement* to REAL news (which is to be found on the net and sometimes the paper) just as long as it's recognized that it's not a meal replacement and that if it's your only meal you'll become malnourished. Remember cookie is a sometimes food!!! :)

Spartana

2-20-13, 2:53pm

Gregg

2-20-13, 3:11pm

Hey, watch/listen to PBS. They might mention the celebrity story, as it is news I suppose, but it won't be the top story, or even in the top ten. I love McNeil/Lehrer (without McNeil, or Lehrer as it turns out) Just good, thoughtful discussion.

I started watching MacNeil/Lehrer in the 70's when we had to add a coat hanger to the rabbit ears to get it. I still like it more than most. A while back Jim Lehrer gave a speech at the National Press Club. I caught a broadcast of it on NPR one day. He outlined his personal code of conduct in the news business. It made an impression on me and explained why I appreciated his style and why I do not appreciate so many others. This is it in a nutshell...

1. DO NOTHING I CAN NOT DEFEND...
2. COVER, WRITE AND PRESENT EVERY STORY WITH THE CARE I WOULD WANT IF THE STORY WERE ABOUT ME...
3. ASSUME THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OTHER SIDE OR VERSION TO EVERY STORY...
4. ASSUME THE VIEWER IS AS SMART AND CARING AND GOOD A PERSON AS I AM...
5. ASSUME THE SAME ABOUT ALL PEOPLE ON WHOM I REPORT...
6. ASSUME PERSONAL LIVES ARE A PRIVATE MATTER UNTIL A LEGITIMATE TURN IN THE STORY ABSOLUTELY MANDATES OTHERWISE...
7. CAREFULLY SEPARATE OPINION AND ANALYSIS FROM STRAIGHT NEWS STORIES... AND CLEARLY LABEL EVERYTHING...
8. DO NOT USE ANONYMOUS SOURCES OR BLIND QUOTES, EXCEPT ON RARE AND MONUMENTAL OCCASIONS. NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE ALLOWED TO ATTACK ANOTHER ANONYMOUSLY...
9. AND... FINALLY... I AM NOT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS...

A better example for your point is the harassment of celebrities by the media to the point they take mild forms of violence to stop it. The Alec Baldwin story ran in a loop on GMA ad nauseum yesterday morning.

Me thinks the media celebs and the Hollywood celebs are co-conspirators who will stop at nothing to insure cross promotion (think simply of the guest list on any morning or nighttime show and the ownership of that show and the current feature starring the guest) or the slander of the competition (GMA-ABC vs. Baldwin-NBC). Of course in the vein of no publicity is bad publicity and considering 30 Rock has now faded to black you have to assume GMA gave Mr. Baldwin a bigger boost than Capital One commercials will. If I tweeted I would check that universe to see, but I don't so I'll just make an educated guess that Alec Baldwin has been trending.

Rogar

2-20-13, 6:40pm

Both true. My problem is that I actually do want to know and enjoy knowing what is going on in the world, but just don't give a rat's pituti about anything celebrity. Oh sure, with a little work I can sort it out online, but it would be nice to have a leisurely cup of coffee and listen to a few articulate people with good hair discuss what is happening in the world. I'm just lazy that way.

I hear you. There's probably no perfect news and everyone is different. Moyers is great for in depth discussions. For national news my choice is public radio. That way I don't even see the hair.

Lainey

2-20-13, 11:19pm

One media critic explained that every time we (generic we) click on a story about the two-headed dog from China, that's recorded. And it shapes the next set of stories because popularity sells ads, which is the real reason Google exists.
I'm as guilty as the next person at clicking on the "weird news" section sometimes, but now I've realized I've encouraged that whole mess.