Michael Medved's opening paragraph today...
The sad case of pregnant, murdered Jessie Davis and her married lover (and alleged killer) Bobbie Cutts threatens to dominate cable news for months to come – especially now that Paris Hilton’s out of jail and the justice system has established the paternity of Anna Nicole’s baby.
...especially now that Paris Hilton’s out of jail and the justice system has established the paternity of Anna Nicole’s baby.
And the fact that those stories lead, nay, *dominate* the news is *our* fault - meaning consumers, and I suppose, in a sense, it's a death spiral of sorts. As more and more of us abandon the TV news because it just gets more and more tabloid... the people who *do* still watch it are increasingly of the type who want... tabloid news. Local news has always been bad in KC, but now it's simply a joke. If you live here, and take your sense of community from the news - then you're living in a war zone, complete with kidnappings and murders all the time, with a tornado looming outside your door anytime there's a thunderstorm.
And heaven forbid if it's a cute white chick who's kidnapped. That will push the gangbangers (who are far more dangerous than the lone murderous loon) off the tube so we can worry about the pretty white girl in breathless tones.
And, sadly, there *are* a few neighborhoods in KC where that just might be true, where the 'bangers are warring amongst themselves and the innocents are caught in the crossfire. But that's *not* where most of us live.
Absolutely *not the fault* of the victims and their families - I don't mean to imply that at all, and I don't fault the families for using every means at their disposal to try and get their kids back.
This is a more general commentary on the producers and remaining consumers of the product.
I don't have an answer to it, I'm just venting.
But I do wish more newsies would do what Mika Brzezinski did on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.
Be embarassed by what the producers put in front of them.
H/t, Toluca Nole
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