Nowadays, the media isn't looking so hot. Take a look at the media on your television and computer. If you know where to look, you can find some high quality news about the ways of the world, but the vast majority of American media is about two shakes shy of a limp biscuit.

Let's take a look at what makes up local television today. There's news on gas prices, local crime, deaths, traffic, weather, sports, the lives of the rich and famous, and perhaps some local festivities. And that's not to mention the unbelievable fluff such as high-end pet weddings and the latest fashion trends. And this is just the local news.

If you're looking for real political news, you'll have to turn to specialized news channels that at least attempts to focus on politics and major American issues. Unfortunately, these stations come with a heavy bias, usually to the right. The bias can easily shape the opinions of viewers who do not already have a strong perspective on the issues, making news channels second only to full-on brainwashing. The stigma around these biases keeps most people with an interest in politics at bay, effectively allowing America to become one of the most ignorant nations in the world.

The only media we can handle comes in the form of entertainment. The majority of college students admit to getting their political know-how from the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. While they are quite informative, their shows are news channel satires that run on Comedy Central.

Despite all these kinks in the modern media, there's something worse than a failed attempt at honest news: useless information disguised as news. There are several shows out there to exploit our nosy nature. They delve into the personal lives of celebrities, the hottest fashion lines, ways to get the perfect body, hair tips, and other useless information that will have absolute no value in our lives.

There isn't just one show that follows around celebrities and the latest trends like little lost puppies. Entertainment news shows, websites, and blogs are gaining momentum and popping up all over the place. There's even an entire station dedicated to digging into pop culture.

Why has entertainment news become such a massive media institution? Americans are completely eating it up, giving the shows and websites the high ratings and traffic they need to keep going strong. As much as we'd like to blame the lack of potent media, we should also be blaming our own penchant for gossip and obsession with beauty.

As disheartening as it is, we've let the paparazzi become the new Walter Cronkite. Perez Hilton has more followers than Brian Williams. Today, youths are more informed about fashion designers than world politics. Entertainment news has taken over the world as we know it.

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jenlynn619   |2008-08-05 15:57:35 Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are my media heroes. And yes I'm in college Reply 0   0

tam09   |2008-07-31 21:37:18 I don't follow the "news" either. I would rather come home and watch a fiction show and get away from the frustrations I already have at school and at work. I do tend to look at more "Real news" online rather than on TV or in print though. I don't feel the need to spend my money on bad news, it is too depressing. If I need to know something i look for it online at a reputable news site. I agree the entertainment coverage has become a lot of fluff and useless information. I am waiting on the reality show that has people watching paint dry... That is why I like coming here. No fluff or other crap. Thanks for the great job! Reply 0   0

Misty  - News avoidant   |2008-07-31 12:42:40 It is both interesting and scary that so many are avoiding the 'real' news. I am admittedly news avoidant. I have considered the subject for a long time and think the problem might stem from the fact that watching the news can be a high speed assault of bad news. I do not know that our brains are wired to receive as much bad news as we do on a daily basis. Until the explosion of the information age, a fairly recent event in history, we did not often know what was going on 10 miles away let alone all around the world. So to help balance out the barrage of bad news we gravitate towards the 'happy' news and fluff stories. How ever we may be doing so to our ultimate detriment as your story points out many of us do not really know what is going on politically around the world. That could be a mistake in the long run. Maybe we need someone to filter through all the bad news for us, distill it to the most relevant, and present it in a style that allows you to control how much of it you ingest. The other part of the global-political bad news problem is not all of the uprisings, bombing, etc. have a long term global impact so we are hit with a bunch of bad news that has no real impact in our lives other than to bring us down and desensitize our interest level. Reply 0   0

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