Pop culture is not the enemy
July 6th, 2007, 2:20 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Scott Shackford
The Paris Hilton news cycle is winding down. Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly?
Anyway, I bring her up because there’s a particular point of debate that goes on in the media the bugs the heck out of me. You’ve probably heard pundits of various types whining about how the media has spent too much time discussing Paris Hilton’s jail visit. Similar complaints happen whenever an entertainment story captures a chunk of the hard news cycle.
Some people seem to be caught up in a false either/or argument regarding news. Either you follow the serious news stories, or your follow the fluff. Apparently the possibility that a person can follow both and be perfectly informed and entertained at the same time escapes some people.
It’s not an either/or scenario. Here’s an example: Do you remember what happened on Election Day last November, besides, of course, the election? It’s okay to admit it if you know. Britney Spears announced her impending divorce from Kevin Federline.
That bit of “news” got tossed into the news cycle. When I read the piece of gossip at work, I wondered how long it would be for somebody to complain that Britney was getting too much attention on a very serious news day. Interestingly though, I don’t recall hearing that much whining.
Let’s say you visited a gossip site or flipped on E! to get the details: Did you suddenly stop caring about the election? Of course not. Humans are quite capable of jugging many different interests, needs, fears, and concerns within their heads. In fact, we probably would be unable to function if we couldn’t.
For that reason (not to mention my belief that the point of the media is to provide the information people want and need, not to sniff at them and judge them for their interests), I grow utterly exhausted at listening to people within my own field whine about Paris and Anna Nicole and celebrity journalism. It is not an either/or scenario. And given the rise of Internet news opportunities, it’s also no longer a case of portioning out the news space. Looking over the new culture of the media, there’s enough room for enough information to appeal to almost anybody’s interests. And the pie grows larger every day.
