Trash on the News

*Disclaimer: This post might offend some and while that is not my intent, you have been warned.

While I am a big fan of 24-hour cable news (I of course have my preferred provider, which will remain nameless, but suffice it to say I'd rather be uninformed than watch CNN) I am quickly getting tired of endless coverage of inane, soap-opera drama purported to be news. There is actual news out there to be covered, but unfortunately the marketing and ratings people who help determine what is considered "news" (yes, I'm suggesting that news outlets cover what will get ratings at times even when it's really not newsworthy) have figured out that certain topics and stories need more coverage because people will stay tuned in longer (which drives ratings and consequently ad revenues) if those "stories" get the airtime.

I don't intend to be totally skeptical. I do think for the most part news outlets attempt to cover legitimate news. But you can't watch 3 hours of coverage on the Anna Nicole Smith saga and not think, "Is this really the only thing going on in the world?" So for your reading pleasure, my top 3 list of stories that need to go away permanently.

#3 Prince Harry and his trip to Baghdad. Here's the deal, kudos for serving, that's honorable. But you don't see national coverage every time a new squad leader is sent to Iraq. Personally, I can't stand stories about the British royal family. It's just a waste of time. They are the equivilent of combining a celebrity who is famous for being famous (Paris Hilton comes to mind) and a college professor whose tenure makes it impossible to ever fire him/her. See they don't do anything official (except take up time on the news when they do something stupid or on the off occasion they do something good), but they have the job for life as long as there is an heir to the "throne". I hope Harry does great and maybe he will prove to be a very capable leader. If I understand right his brother is first in line to the throne, so he may never "rule". What will really irk me is when 20 years from now they try to equate his time over there with real war heroes that were injured, captured, lost limbs, or at the very least actually came under fire (I suspect he will experience none of these). I have a feeling that whatever he does do over there will grow into legend over time (think John Kerry). Time will tell.

#2 Britney Spears' slide back to obscurity. Sadly, it turns out that K-fed is actually smarter than she is. When they broke up everyone thought she'd get the kids because he was worthless (which he is), but amazingly he's managed to keep himself out of the news (actually, the little bit of coverage he's gotten has been positive of late) while she's gone about proving herself to be completely trashy. Either her lawyer is an idiot or she isn't listening. I'd say K-fed is going to get the kids and probably a chunk of whatever is left of her fortune (I'm not sure there is much). Okay, that's all that needs to be said about this story. Everyone please quit following her around and covering her every drunken tirade. Her career is probably over (thankfully), so let her self-destruct in peace and don't make me watch "news" about whatever stupid thing she did last night.

#1 The Anna Nicole Smith saga. Sorry, this one is tired. The court proceedings are a circus, the judge is just out to get his own show - I was surprised to learn that was going on in Florida and not LA, I hadn't seen acting that bad in several nights of primetime. The whole thing is a tragedy, really it is. I hope and pray that somehow out of all this the 5-month-old can emerge to a quasi-normal life. I fear that the child may have developmental challenges due to her mother's selfish addictive behavior while she was pregnant, but perhaps by God's grace she won't. I couldn't care less about all the junk that is going on now. The fact that no one has ordered a paternity test to settle the dispute yet is ridiculous. And if I thought for a moment that any of these gold-digging men cared a bit about that child I'd probably care more about the story. But honestly, this is entirely about getting their hands on the $400 Million that the Smith estate may be entitled to (pending a whole separate courtroom drama). It's sad, the whole thing. Let's move on.

Truth of the matter is that there are important things going on in the world everyday. In case the only news you are getting is junk like the "stories" I've just talked about here's a short update:

Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
North Korea is still a threat.
Thousands die everyday of malnutrition and/or preventable disease around the world. What are we doing about it?
Children are being abducted and molested, killed, or both right around us. How can we stop this?
Billions stand to spend eternity in hell if no one bothers to share the love of Christ with them. What am I doing about this?

I don't mind the occasional blurb about something that is only news worthy because it involves someone who is already otherwise famous, I just can't stand continuous coverage of it all the time.