Bryan W. Alaspa 1Stand by for news???
December 3rd 2009 14:38
People these days love to complain about how the news isn’t really news these days. There is a lot of finger pointing and people making accusations against the news networks. Some of that may have something to do with the tremendous rise in the non-news news stories that are everywhere and dominate the supposed news landscape, but the problem is I think the real issue lies with us. Yes, I have seen the enemy and it is us, as the old saying goes.
For some reason the audience seems to have an insatiable desire to learn about these people we call celebrities. However, I just recently heard a joke on Saturday Night Live that said, these days, we have reached the point where “celebrity” is just another word for “mammal.”
Let’s face it, we all have some desire for fame. Sure, you run into people who say, oh no, I have no desire to be famous. These people are what we in the industry call: liars. Everyone has that desire. We all want to be loved and we want to be loved and adored by as many people as possible. The problem is that, as I have said many times, humans are inherently evil. So, while we love to yell and scream in support of people we have helped build up, we also have that devilish gleam in our eyes like a five year old who has spent hours building an entire city out of wooden blocks to now stomp through it and tear it apart. What’s really more fun? Building a sand castle or tearing the damn thing apart once it’s built?
Since we all want to be famous but somehow secretly resent any and all of those people who have become famous, we have this seemingly bottomless hunger for stories about these people. There was a time when I watched the show Entertainment Tonight. There was also a time where it just covered what movies were coming out. These days, you would think they had installed video cameras in ever room in Angelina Jolie’s house they way they sell every single detail of every celebrity they can find.
So, we now have the proliferation of the non-news news story. Tiger Woods is a famous man who has made a fortune playing a game for a living. While he is admired by thousands, millions, there is this hope, and has been all along, that he will do something wrong so people can dislike him. Thus, when he has a domestic issue, it becomes front-page and lead-story news.
Tiger is right that his making mistakes in his marriage should not warrant a press release. His marital problems really shouldn’t be any of our business. He is the celebrity, and not his family. And yet, we just cannot help ourselves. We want to know every sordid detail.
In the meantime, the world of news reporting is suffering. People don’t want to read the newspaper anymore or listen to real hard news. So, they are desperate to get more viewers and readers and the only thing that seems to get people to read and watch is by covering the details of a Tiger Woods or the White House gatecrashers.
So before you throw up your hands in frustration and accuse the news of reporting crap, maybe take a look at your own viewing habits. Stop watching and stop reading, and the news coverage will change.
For some reason the audience seems to have an insatiable desire to learn about these people we call celebrities. However, I just recently heard a joke on Saturday Night Live that said, these days, we have reached the point where “celebrity” is just another word for “mammal.”
Let’s face it, we all have some desire for fame. Sure, you run into people who say, oh no, I have no desire to be famous. These people are what we in the industry call: liars. Everyone has that desire. We all want to be loved and we want to be loved and adored by as many people as possible. The problem is that, as I have said many times, humans are inherently evil. So, while we love to yell and scream in support of people we have helped build up, we also have that devilish gleam in our eyes like a five year old who has spent hours building an entire city out of wooden blocks to now stomp through it and tear it apart. What’s really more fun? Building a sand castle or tearing the damn thing apart once it’s built?
Since we all want to be famous but somehow secretly resent any and all of those people who have become famous, we have this seemingly bottomless hunger for stories about these people. There was a time when I watched the show Entertainment Tonight. There was also a time where it just covered what movies were coming out. These days, you would think they had installed video cameras in ever room in Angelina Jolie’s house they way they sell every single detail of every celebrity they can find.
So, we now have the proliferation of the non-news news story. Tiger Woods is a famous man who has made a fortune playing a game for a living. While he is admired by thousands, millions, there is this hope, and has been all along, that he will do something wrong so people can dislike him. Thus, when he has a domestic issue, it becomes front-page and lead-story news.
Tiger is right that his making mistakes in his marriage should not warrant a press release. His marital problems really shouldn’t be any of our business. He is the celebrity, and not his family. And yet, we just cannot help ourselves. We want to know every sordid detail.
In the meantime, the world of news reporting is suffering. People don’t want to read the newspaper anymore or listen to real hard news. So, they are desperate to get more viewers and readers and the only thing that seems to get people to read and watch is by covering the details of a Tiger Woods or the White House gatecrashers.
So before you throw up your hands in frustration and accuse the news of reporting crap, maybe take a look at your own viewing habits. Stop watching and stop reading, and the news coverage will change.
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