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CARSON DALY, "LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY": I hope 2006 brings us a little bit less of infatuation with celebrities, you know. I hope, I don't know if that's going to be the case.
LIN: OK, Carson...
DALY: It would be nice.
LIN: ...do you know that number one -- as we speak right now, the number one story on CNN.com is the fact that Tori Spelling just got engaged. All right, that's what America's interested in right now.
DALY: I don't -- I cannot believe that. I -- that's what I'm talking about. I mean, there's got to be a news story at CNN.com that's more important than Tori Spelling getting married.
LIN: Well, America is hungry for celebrities. So if you had -- your own prediction for 2006, what would it be?
Originally posted by djohnsto77
we follow their lives, build them up, tear them down, etc...
Mainly a distraction, yes.
Originally posted by yeahright
I most humbly disagree. I do not believe there is a concentrated overt effort by media to condition people to be hungry for celebrities. That stuff is out there because that's what sells. People watch it and buy books and magazines about it by the truckload. We're a society obsessed by personality (among other things). "Jennifer Anniston eats sandwich. Looks at squirrel. Film at 11."
Why? Maybe because it's one way to live vicariously through someone else. Much like wearing a favorite player's jersey or a stock car driver's signature cap. A form of identity mixed with a little escapism. The media give us what sells. The markets in general give us what sells. Crap sells, whether it be fast food or junk news. We'll get better when we demand better.
Like that'll happen.
Originally posted by Toelint
Ordinarily, I'd agree with you...BUT...consider that now, the newscasters themselves are celebrities!
Originally posted by yeahright
Originally posted by Toelint
Ordinarily, I'd agree with you...BUT...consider that now, the newscasters themselves are celebrities!
I think we probably do agree. The effect of all the media celebrity hype is distracting, but it's driven by what the public wants and not, IMO, some sinister plot to distract. Most people, at the end of a frustrating work day are looking for mindless diversion and not more reason to rail at the tides of iniquity. And attention spans seem to be waning. It's sensory overkill.
Pretty soon, you just shut down. How much "hard news" can you absorb before you just throw your hands in the air and walk away? Especially since more and more people are coming to realize that big media news is all run by the same band of elites and you're never going to get the straight "spin free" poop anyway? So where's the truth? Might as well check to see who Nicholson took to the Lakers game.
Of course, I could be wrong.