OLESYA SALNIKOVA
Staff Writer
Just the other day, one of my teachers asked my class if we had heard the “breaking news.” Without any hesitation, one of my classmates burst out with “Oh! You mean Britney and Kevin?” I laughed along with everybody else at the silly comment, not giving any weight to the implications it carried.
That is, until I considered our growing ignorance about the news that actually matters to our lives. The news my professor was speaking about was actually related to the elections, yet people seemed convinced that “breaking” had to do with the latest gossip surrounding the split of Britney Spears from husband Kevin Federline. It is certainly surprising how people give so much significance to celebrity gossip, which ends up being equated to the noteworthy news that concerns the whole world.
Lately, “breaking news” has consisted of celebrity couples calling it quits, whether it is on the news or Hollywood-dedicated channels. Media everywhere have been busy filling our minds with who broke up and why.
While randomly flipping through TV channels one night, I decided to look on the information channel to see if there was anything worth watching that night. I was not surprised to find a show cleverly entitled “Britney and Kevin: Toxic!” was the most interesting “information” accompanying the scrolling TV schedule that night.
The information was apparently not even concerned with new movies or shows about to air on television, or the films coming out in theaters. No, it was much more important than that. It was concerning Spears yet again. The program dove into the gruesome details of the split, the citation of irreconcilable differences and the implications for the couple’s two children and K-Fed’s career.
TV Guide is not the only channel to promote celebrity gossip. Even respected news stations fall prey to the intrigue of celebrity. Instead of sticking to important information, like the recent elections or the war in Iraq, many news programs spend an excessive amount of air time on celebrity news. This just continues to raise the viewer’s curiosity and consciousness about trivial and insignificant things.
Television shows like “Access Hollywood” and “Entertainment Tonight” further popularize celebrity gossip on TV. On weeknights, these programs promote celebrity gossip at its utmost with lists of best/worst dressed, top “news” of the day, and the latest on the hottest stars of the week.
It is ironic that “Access Hollywood” runs on MSNBC, which is supposed to be a reputable station that airs NBC news, among other programs.
Though “Access Hollywood” is like a regular news broadcast, with two serious anchors announcing the “breaking news” of the day, the news generally consists of Hollywood mishaps and trends, while completely ignoring the relevant news of the day. As a result, people focus on empty celebrity “facts” instead of being aware of what is going on in their local surroundings and the world.
Unfortunately, people buy into the craze, choosing to watch a celebrity gossip program over an actual news broadcast. Have we really come so far as to think of “breaking news” as consisting of Britney’s divorce or Ryan Phillippe’s alleged affairs? Are we so ignorant as to think the lives of the stars are more important than what is happening in our world?
Some food for thought for the next time you are flipping aimlessly through the channels.
11-16-2006