Separation of News and Gossip
Submitted by Kristin on Tue, 09/08/2009 - 12:27
Why are People Magazine, Us Weekly and Perez Hilton so popular? It’s not because of their gripping in-depth journalism; sadly, I think it is due to our societies need to distract ourselves from our own problems and focus on the drama of celebrities, their children, pets, errands, basically their every move. I know I should get off my soapbox and stop preaching because I am guilty of perusing the gossip sites while bored at work and am tempted to buy the tabloids when I am in line at the grocery store, but there is a little voice inside of me that tells me to resist and don’t pay into this celebrity obsessed culture we have become.
In our defense as a whole, I think it is the media’s fault. We are still being bombarded on the news about Michael Jackson’s death weeks later. I love MJ, don’t get me wrong, but I think it is time to cover things other than the movements of his kids, nannies, chefs and doctor. My question is: shouldn’t that be covered in the entertainment section of the nightly news? It seems like today it is all thrown together with no distinction of news vs. gossip.
I personally watch BBC World News, it covers world issues, as well as what is going on here in America. Comparing BBC World News to our regular 11 P.M. nightly news is like comparing apples to oranges, sure they are both round but the taste is very different. BBC covers the protests in Iran, genocide in Darfur, Tribute to Ted Kennedy and his contributions and tsunamis in Southeast Asia, as well as countless other issues that are not covered in our nightly news. Our news consists of who broke up this week, who Jon Gosslin is sleeping with and what the nightly score was for the NY Giants. These are important to some and I don’t want to knock them, but I think that there needs to be some world news awareness thrown in to make us, as a culture, a little more “well-rounded.”
Case in point, I was watching BBC one evening and learned that the Iranian government not only turns a blind eye but encourages people to “get rid of” gay people. Since January, 90 gay males in Iran have been murdered. Why is this not news here in America? Perhaps it is and I have just missed it, but to me this is something major that needs attention brought to it. As is the genocide in Darfur, hundreds of thousands of people killed or displaced for years without much intervention from other countries. I think it is because a lot of Americans are just unaware of these issues because we are too busy glorifying celebrities and athletes.
For more info about the injustices happening in Iran check out:
Iran 'must stop youth executions', BBC News
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Comments
Very Relevant!!
I totally get it. We hate it, but most of the time- it's just there! Celeb gossip infiltrates us like ads. I actually once gave up celebrity gossip for New Years in '08 and felt left out of a lot of conversations with my friends. They're smart, amazing women, but celeb gossip is really an easy way to break the ice and start talking with old friends and new.
But, your point about celeb news being in the entertainment section is spot on. There certainly are news programs, including most local news, that don't have time or sponsors to cover the nonsense. But, there are shows (and even whole channels, like E!) that only cover this stuff. On top of the bulk of news shows turning to sensationalism and partisanship, it almost seems that everyone's a bit of a celebrity.
Luckily, I have been able to travel and see that the world is not all like us Americans, and, as you say, it's as easy as turning on the BBC to see. :)
I think comparing local news
I think comparing local news to the evening national news is like comparing oranges to lemons. Very similar but one leaves a very bitter taste. The bitter being most local news. Mostly some puff peices sprinkled in with some topics of local concern and a nod at national topics. The evening national news does not do nearly the same job as outlets such as the BBC.
It is a reflection of what the viewing public values. Print media is in a huge decline, most news and television in general is going the way of the internet, the number of people listening to the radio- much less public talk radio is also on a huge downturn. And what do people tend to talk about? Or at least on the new versions of the watercooler- facebook and twitter updates. Things that are easy and light. I get it, most of us have a rough enough time getting through the afternoon without thinking of all of the hard topics of world concern and public policy debate. Sometimes it's nice to zone out on the fluff. But it seems that there seems to be a whole lot more zoning out and a lot less tuning in to topics of substance.