Monday, March 26, 2007
Entertainment media audiences are restless. They’re tired of seeing the same, tiresome coverage on TV. They’re tired of hearing about the same over-publicized, attention-craving, self-obsessed celebrities. Where are the stories about the admirable celebrities who donate time and money to various charities?
The latest focus of entertainment media’s attention is Britney Spears. Instead of exploiting her redneck personality again, shows are parading her rash decisions (a shaved head) and ever increasing craziness (confirmed by her constant checking in and out of rehab facilities).
I would hate to sound rude, but does her shaved head really warrant that much airtime?
The press loved her when she achieved her first hit single and carried a squeaky clean image to boot. Now that they’ve driven her to lavish partying and scandalous clothing choices, they want to grind her up and splatter a little of her on every broadcast they air, all while shaking their heads in disapproval.
Here’s a hint: Britney is not that important to us. Drop it and move on.
Over-publicized celebrity No. 2 is Anna Nicole Smith. The woman was well-known and died an unexpected death, so yes, her death deserved to be covered by the press. But the relentless coverage of her death has gone on for more than a month now.
She’s dead. It’s time to let her rest in peace. The public is begging you to do so.
nutgraf
Countless celebrities exist and they are doing countless acts of goodwill. Yet these acts rarely get covered.
Moving on to must-be-covered celebrity No. 3, Paris Hilton. On Feb. 13, The Associated Press chose to institute a ban on coverage of Paris Hilton.
There were more than a few hip-hip hooray’s yelled out in the newsroom when staff members heard about this. However, a week later, people were disappointed to discover that the ban was only an experiment, and The AP soon resumed coverage of her.
The AP called it an experiment to see how others would react. Letters were sent in, and while some cheered, others worried about the line the news service was crossing.
But it did bring up a good point. Media do control the news we hear. They search it out, sometimes going so far as to rent helicopters to see celebrities sunbathing topless behind fenced-in properties. Why don’t media focus their efforts on other newsworthy issues?
Instead of Paris Hilton getting a DUI, why not cover the work Ashley Judd does for YouthAIDS as its global ambassador? Or why not cover the work Scarlett Johansson, Parker Posey and Don Cheadle do for Soles4Souls, a charity that requests people to donate shoes and money to benefit the displaced people of Sudan? Or the work Richard Gere does for the International Campaign For Tibet?
Countless celebrities exist and they are doing countless acts of goodwill. Yet these acts rarely get covered.
A change needs to happen in the media. With restless viewers showing more and more irritation at the unending coverage of trivial events, what do entertainment shows have to lose?
Holopirek is an Otis graduate student in journalism.
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