I am sick and tired of the media wasting our time with meaningless crap about people who don't matter to barely anyone on the planet!
The Amanda Knox case in Italy, while perhaps intriguing, really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Her conviction personally affected maybe a few hundred people; her family, the family of those involved in the case, the family of the victim, and some good friends. That’s it.
Tiger Woods affected nobody but he and his wife and the people that make money covering him or representing him.
The Salahi's matter to themselves; and that's it.
Sarah Palin matters to Keith Olbermann who can't stop covering her!
What about the Copenhagen Climate Summit, Health Care Reform, and the war in Afghanistan? These affect at least a few hundred million people if not a billion; as does the still ongoing war in Iraq.
Perhaps the media sets a new standard that they focus on stories that affect most of us, instead of none of us. Okay, the 24 hour news stations are exempt for now because they are ratings whores; but the CBS, ABC, and NBC news need to start with this standard right away.
I dream of a day when Nancy Grace is asking nightly when the Iranians will let us examine their secret nuclear testing site; rather than asking nightly about cases involving dead white girls and their mothers.
I dream of a day when CNN "keeps it honest" by looking into Obama’s stimulus projects to make sure they are providing adequate jobs, or by profiling really important infrastructure projects needing a stimulus and asking why they aren’t being built!
Media pressure on important subjects can create meaningful change in America. Look at 60 Minutes focus on Medicare Fraud a few weeks ago. Medicare Fraud costs billions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers each year. It affects nearly every single American, and because it impacts the U.S. economy, it matters to hundreds of millions across the world! 60 Minutes focus story on end of life care took on an issue that affects nearly every American since almost all of us have a parent or grandparent near the end of his or her life and all of us will have to deal with this issue eventually in our own lives.
See where I am going here?
Who cares about Amanda Knox? If she was unattractive, the story would never have been covered. Who cares about the Salahi’s? They tricked the Secret Service into letting them in to an event, but didn’t have a gun or a knife or anything to threaten National security. Plus, people like it because the wife is attractive. Who cares about Tiger Woods? Do you think a man that rich and powerful can resist temptation and media scrutiny forever?
And one more issue: Who cares about Sarah Palin?
Do you really think she could be President? She couldn’t even handle Governor of the 4th least populated U.S. State. She just wants to sell books and speaking tours, and by giving her attention we just make her rich and more popular.
So what should we do? Well how about following the advice of President Obama and maybe the media can find communities falling apart that can be rebuilt by an infrastructure project? How about focusing on a brownfield site that could be covered in solar panels? How about a special on the challenges of developing lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles?
We need more stories that matter! The 4th Estate has become our most corrupt and failed institution. They have as much power to change America as all three branches of U.S. Government. We need to demand they take their responsibility seriously or turn off the television.