Bubble Gum or Broccoli

A few items in the news recently would appear to be outside the orbit of concern for local residents: Britney Spears' hair, the guy on American Idol, Tom Cruise and whomever, and Brad Pitt and whomever. Packed in among the dross are stories of real concern to all citizens regardless of their hometowns: the Virginia shootings and the on-going toll exacted by the occupation of Iraq are two of the most significant examples. I wonder how many people can recount all the details about the items in the first list and yet not get within a couple hundred on a guess of how many deaths the U.S. has paid in the war in Iraq and now during the occupation*.

Perhaps cynically,I think the cable news media's take on the shootings is a vestige of the electronic media's roots in print journalism. In pre-electronic media days, the sensationality of a story could be measured in ounces of ink required to get the story out. Today, because of the 24-hour nature of cable news, is it possible that the people in that field think it is necessary to validate the lives of the victims by devoting more attention, measured in broadcasting minutes, to telling their story or, is it simply an updated version of the maxim, "If it bleeds, it leads."?
The cynicism I mentioned is the nagging thought that any story regardless of its impact on peoples' lives is simply grist for the 24-hour news mill. On the one hand, news people are filled with the same emotions as all the rest of us and they can empathize with the students and relatives of students involved in the shootings, but can't they do that in a more restrained manner that is more respectful of the feelings of the victims?

I remember remarking to my wife as the "Runaway Bride" story was in its infancy, that "I'm glad she came forward so the story will die". If you recall, the story did not die. I believe it was powered into a second, third or fourth life by the menacing gaze of the Bride herself.

The detrimental effect these stories have on local issues and important national issues is the diversion of attention away from the important issues. In the heyday of newspapers, headline size and story placement signaled the importance of a story. When hour upon hour of broadcast time is devoted to the trivial or to an over the top treatment of a real tragedy such as the Virginia shootings, the media have abdicated one of their legitimate functions: editing, and also prioritizing. While it may be good to note that the media has been democratized--we're all editors now--it is, sadly, not a task all of us are equipped to handle. How can the mundane workings of the City Council or the Mayor's programs compete with the sensationalism of television? That may sound like a softball lobbed right over the plate to regular attendees of Council meetings, but I mean it as a legitimate question. Delve into how New Albany can be made to work for everyone, or figure out why Britney's acting so weird. Think about reversing a long-standing trend of dwindling home ownerhip and increasing poorly maintained rental properties, or figure out why that guy keeps getting voted back on American Idol ( I hate to admit it but I know, through cultural osmosis I suppose, that he's gone now ). Figure out how we can bring responsible stewardship of the planet to our hometown decision making or figure out a good combination name for Brad and Angelina. Bubble gum or broccoli?

*The current number of U.S. dead in Iraq is 3,325