This morning, I began my day as usual by turning on my computer and starting up the Internet, which popped up to my home screen — CNN.com. Although I was not surprised, I was completely appalled at the headline staring back at me: "Kevin Federline to go to court Thursday." In the past week alone, I have seen update after update on respectable news web sites such as CNN.com and nytimes.com telling me, "Britney Shaves Her Head," "Britney Goes Into Rehab" and "Britney Back Out of Rehab," not to mention the constant bombardment of Anna Nicole stories — "Anna Nicole Murdered?" "Who Will Get Custody of Anna Nicole's Daughter?" "Who Will Inherit Anna Nicole's Fortune?"
If these are the most pressing issues plaguing the U.S. today, we must live in a very crisis-free time. But that is just the problem — our world is not perfect. Throughout the United States and the world, there are significant issues: poverty, global warming, terrorism, genocide, civil wars, disease and innumerable others that deserve our attention. Yet, the American public is fixated on the trivial details of a few highly publicized lives.
Since 1690 when the first newspaper was published in America, the news business has grown and become a symbol of American freedom of speech. All citizens have a right to receive updates concerning what is going on in their world, and for the most part, newspapers are the source of this information. Newspapers are clearly unable to include all stories; it is their job to decide which events are most important for the public to know about. So, since when is the fate of Anna Nicole's baby a critical topic in Americans' lives? Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming the newspapers — they are simply giving the public what they want. It is a proven fact that newspaper readership is way down and has been declining over the years, especially among high school and college-age individuals. Therefore, it is only logical that newspapers would target these sources to find out what they want to read and give it to them, and apparently what they want is Britney Spears.
We live in a highly privileged place, where instead of worrying about global issues, people are able to concentrate on more petty problems because they do not see how issues such as genocide in Africa affect them. This mindset among the public is an extremely disturbing one that needs to be changed. In this case, maybe the newspapers need to take a little more control and stop giving people so much of what they want. Keep the Hollywood stories in the tabloids and fill the newspapers with actual news.
Americans need to realize that what happens to Anna Nicole's money has no effect on their lives, yet the issue of global warming could severely change our lives in the not-so-distant future. In our sometimes-scary world, it may seem easier to focus on insignificant details of others' lives, but it will not help anyone in the future.
Our generation needs to be given — whether we want it or not — more serious news, and we need to start caring about it. Without knowledge of current world events, we are putting the future of our country in jeopardy.
Gabbie Wade ([email protected]) is a freshman intending to major in journalism.
