I don't have television, and, yes, sometimes I miss it. But over the weekend, I was at my sister's and got to witness first hand, the obsessive chasing after celebrity that now passes for news in this country. At the death of Michael Jackson, himself a literal victim of this country's unhealthy self-obsession through voyeurism, all other news virtually disappeared.
Suddenly, the protests against the regime in Iran mean nothing. Suddenly, the bills that are currently being debated in our congress do not exist. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how our elected officials are able to pass legislation under our very noses--our media are too busy covering the death of one entertainer to the exclusion of all other news! You would think that World War III had broken out to look at the level of coverage that Michael Jackson's death has warranted.
Thirty years ago, the assassination of a U.S. president warranted such news coverage. Now, the untimely death of a celebrity means all other news is pushed aside.
Our so-called "news organizations" are nothing but purveyors of advertisements to a gullible public. Money and power are all that motivate the media now. We are being spoon fed addictive drivel in lieu of actual news.
We should not be surprised when changes occur "behind the scenes" in our country and our government when we are distracted by the very media who are supposed to be keeping watch.
4 comments:
This is why I don't watch the news anymore.
Ditto. I honestly think that it is literally feeding some sort of addiction.
By the way, this just in . . . Michael Jackson is still dead. *eyeroll*
I spoke to my news director on Friday, and he said our station said nothing more about his death than ABC News was breathlessly reporting.
As Steely Dan put it nearly 40 years ago, "The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand."
Exactly, Cyg! My bil and I have a running joke now. He'd walk into the living room while I was there and quip, "Is Michael Jackson still dead?" Its truly ridiculous.
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