The Downfall of the Real News Division

Nothing like starting out a serious, thought provoking blog, by skewering the very medium of which I am communicating that thought. Don't understand? Do not worry I will hopefully try to clear this all up very shortly.

Now, one would think that the most important news item of this week would be, the rising hostilities that are occurring in Iraq; the President's visit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, or any other world events that affect us, this country, and the world in profound ways. However, that was not the case. The huge headlines to rock the nation: NBC deciding to call the Iraqi conflict a civil war. Brittany Spears showing her crotch all over town,and Pamela Anderson divorce from Kid Rock (aka Bob Ritchie).

Now I don't make any qualms about how much I hate entertainment news, every time Entertainment Tonight comes on the television. I can feel my body break out in convulsions and want to go into a coma. However, it is not Mary Hart trying to act 90 years younger than she really is that has me pissed off. It is how the country as a whole seems to get fixated on these people and seem to forget that there is shit going down outside our borders. Just this past elections, news outlets said that the 2006 Elections would be a referendum on the Iraq War. And you know what, yeah...that could be true. But for how long? How long will the American people be interested in a war before the next glamor news headline item distracts them and places them back into a state numbness we had found ourselves earlier this year.

Now on to about NBC deciding to call the Iraqi conflict a civil war. I have no problem whatsoever, calling the conflict a civil war. I guess my problem with the whole thing is when did the news divisions become news. Did they really need to come out with fanfare and confetti and announce to the nation that, "we are taking a stand against the other networks and call this conflict a civil war first!" Honestly, there was a time, when Network news did not make the news, they just reported it. That is the reason I have Walter Cronkite picture on this days blog entry. Back then the news in this country carried weight. It was the voice of the people and was not afraid to ask the questions that needed to be asked. President Lyndon Johnson once said of Cronkite, " If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the country." You would be hard press to find any president saying that about any of the Network news outlets now.
I guess, what I'm trying to get at is that we become to easily distracted with news items that don't really need to be news items. If it be a white girl from an upper middle class home who has gone missing for weeks, or a celebrity who just committed double murder. Yes they are news worthy, but not to the point they need to be headline news for three straight weeks. In this country many people go missing, and many people are murdered, however where is their media coverage.

I think I'm gonna bring this blog entry to an end now before it becomes a full blown essay. Plus after re-reading it seems my thoughts are all over the place. Next time, I think I'm going to actually pre-write my ideas before attempting to write it out from scratch.

Well until next time...