06/11/2007 (12:09 pm)
Paris in the hoosegow
I’m kind of reluctant to comment on it, lest Paris Hilton get more press than she already has. But. I find this whole Paris in jail thing interesting from a press person point of view.
After seeing the police reports and arrest records of people in Monroe County, caught doing the things PH has been caught doing, I’m pretty sure they would have been taken downtown at least until bail could be posted. However, that’s not what surprises me.
What does strike me is the line between hard news (some may say ‘actual’ news) and celebrity enews is more blurred now than ever. It’s been a progression, but when you hear about Paris Hilton’s jail antics on NPR, some sort of shift has occurred. NBC recently stated they were too busy to cover Lindsay Lohan passed out in a car, seemingly taking a stance on celebrities out of control.
I’m curious. Are people sick of this kind of coverage in the news? Would you rather read this kind of story than what happened at the county board meeting? Are more information outlets covering these kinds of beats because it’s what readers want?
3 Comments
Comment by LunaPierCook
This is the kind of thing Entertainment Tonight and those other pseudo news outlets have a field day with, generating seemingly random content for another three or four months. Outside of the first 24 hours or, preferably, less, let’s move on already.
This is one of the many reasons shows like ET find me swatting at the remote for something better.
Comment by jacob espinoza
C’mon, Stephanie, you know the answer to this.
Generally, people are fascinated with celebrity — that’s what makes celebrities celebrities.
Then, when most of the money-losing news divisions are put under the more profitable entertainment divisions at news organizations, the spin is all about “stars.”
This trickles down to local TV news too. How many times have you seen “a news story” on a local TV news broadcast that merely is a promotion for a popular network series. Besides, it’s a lot more comforting waking up to hear about “The Sopranos” finale than the fact that 3,500 Americans now have died in Iraq. Talk about starting your day with a downer.
Comment by Stephanie A
I suppose. But my argument with PH and the like is that they’re not celebrities. I’ve heard things like celebutantes (in the context of creating a world of prosti-tots) to describe these people. Really, though, what are they famous for? Being rich? Being annoying? Being underwearless? I guess if I looked from a historical perspective I would find cave drawings outlining the antics of some generation standing a little more upright, meat-rich and scandalous than their parents. But it’s just hard for me to digest that this is what constitutes the information that makes up peoples’ days. I just hope this isn’t it – that there is more incoming info than celebri-news. For me, it’s feeding into my need to see the movie “Idiocracy” as a cautionary tale rather than pure entertainment. Dude.
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