Celebrity "News"

Unfortunately, based on nearly every definition (and believe me, I looked to find otherwise) on the site, the celebrity gossip in question meets dictionary.com's definition of "news." However, based on my own personal definition of news, it does not qualify.

I define news as information I need to know or actively seek out that directly affects my life, for better or worse. If there's an consumer recall on a 2004 Ford Focus ZTS, then that qualifies as news for me, because it's something I most certainly need to know. My life is no better or no worse based on whether or not I'm aware of Britney Spears's 55-hour just-for-fun wedding. And that's not just a stab against celebrity gossip, either. On the complete flip side of that, almost every story I've ever run across about the war in Iraq has in no way affected me, and my life is no different because of it. What I define as news are occurrences beyond my sphere of experience that directly affects or makes a difference in my life.

I also looked up the precise definition of "reputable", in order to make sure I understood the second question properly. The definition I found was "held in good repute; honorable; respectable; estimable." Based on that, then to me, sites like TMZ, Perez Hilton, and pretty much everything on the TV Guide Channel since it started to suck are in no way reputable. I don't respect writing or programming like that, and if I run across it by accident, I usually find a way to get out of that situation as fast as humanly possible. I've never been able to fathom celebrity culture, and why the details of certain people's lives have to constantly be under the microscope based upon (usually) their ability to perform one socially irrelevant act. Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith I have an even harder time understanding...two women who have contributed absolutely nothing of value to society, yet are constantly having their lives splashed across newsstands because they're famous for being famous. A huge percentage of women want to be them, a huge percentage of men want to be inside them, and anyone smart enough to see through the smoke and mirrors of celebrity journalism has to suffer as a result.

How do I feel about "news" from the celebrity blogosphere ending up on "real news" channels? I think it's probably one of the worst things to happen to journalism in the past 30 years. One of the first things I remember about Anna Nicole Smith dying was the fact that we had CNN on in the KGOU News Bullpen, and I turned to a co-worker and commented that you would've thought a president had died the way there was hours upon hours of uninterrupted media coverage. I think back to Watergate, and how responsible journalism had the power to bring down a president. I can't imagine something like that happening today, because more of America cares about whether or not Lindsay Lohan is in rehab than any story that has actual substance.

If anyone is to blame for this, it's the vast number of news consumers who constantly demand more and more Meredith Vieira falling-on-her-ass or whether or not Joss Stone is wearing panties. Go back to bed America, and we'll continue to distract you with mindless, meaningless celebrity "journalism".