Absurd and Askew

There's an upheaval in Iran. Another terrorist bombing in Iraq. A Yemeni plane went down leaving one 14-year-old survivor from the 150 or so passengers aboard. A school bus stop shooting in Detroit that injured 7 kids ages 14 to 17 years old. And every news blurb I've received from CNN on my phone since last Friday all relate to Michael Jackson. Farrah died, too, after a very brave and tragic 3-year battle with cancer. Long-time household name Ed McMahon died earlier in the week. Attention to both deaths has been practically non-existent since Jacko died.

WTF?

Look, I understand Jackson was a pop legend and his passing was unexpected and all, but I consider details of his life, death, his kids' custody, the movement of his remains from this place to that place, the preparations for his viewing, and how many times his songs are being played to be SECONDARY news. Yes, I was surprised to learn that he died. Yes, I think he had a major impact on the entertainment industry. Yes, I think it's a shame. But ENOUGH ALREADY!


Why have the news groups (almost every single one of them) determined for us that any Michael Jackson-related news is the most important news of the day? Why when I was watching the first 45 minutes of NBC's Today show this morning was it dominated by interviews with various Michael Jackson insiders and speculation on his drug use/abuse and there was no mention made of the school bus shooting in Detroit yesterday that injured seven teens?

I agree that Michael Jackson's passing is newsworthy, and that details of it are newsworthy, but as PRIMARY news? No. It's ENTERTAINMENT news. Secondary news. I don't want to see news related to him at the top of the hour and news of the struggle in Iran or the shooting of some teens just waiting for a school bus bumped to the "after thought" position.

In case you hadn't heard, the House of Representatives held a moment of silence for Michael. Are you serious? Where's the moment of silence for Farrah and Ed, both pop culture icons as well, and both equally deserving of that kind of respect as long as they're doling it out?

The priorities of this country are bass-ackward, and they are unfortunately being dictated by what our journalists decide regarding what's the big news and what's the little news, what gets reported and what doesn't. If you want to know where the power is in this country, turn on one of the 24-hour news stations. It's not any of the newsmakers, it's the boys and girls who run those stations. They tell us what's important to us and what's not by deciding what goes at the top of the hour.

We just follow along like stupid sheep.