Celebrities VS Criminals: Who Gets the Most Air-Time on the Web?

Its 8:00 a.m. You turn on your computer or your phone with every intention of finishing off that report or updating your blog or website. But 
there it is. In your face. Bold Print…Some celebrity has gone crazy, beat somebody up, or broke up with  their spouse and it’s the top news story of the day. Or some deranged person has done something unspeakable (at worst) or by doing any number of criminal activities. The bizarre ones get the press usually. And yes, I admit I am one to check out the guy who makes a fool of himself as a criminal on tape.

Granted, in the case of the criminals, we should be made aware. It helps us make better decisions as to how to go about our lives. If there is someone breaking into homes in our neighborhood, we want to know about it. But to grind it into our minds every waking moment ad nauseum by repeating and repeating a news story, putting it on every major news website, is going over the top. Whenever we look at a screen, whether it is our pads, our laptops, our home computers, our phones, etc., the same stories get rehashed without ever getting any new information. sometimes it’s too much to bear, even for a dyed in the wool newshound like myself.  I love to read the news, I have to admit. I read the newspapers, magazines, web, etc., pretty much on a daily basis.

In my perfect news world, I would see some air time given to other newsworthy events that may not seem sensational, but that people really need to know and things they care about. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot of just flat-out meanness in our culture today. Remember the days where people still said hello to each other on the street? Smiled? Cultures change and society changes with it, but I see some changes that might not be so good for us. While we can’t go back to the innocence of the bygone eras, wouldn’t it be nice if we could bring some of that politeness and sense of community? We have lost that and towns and people are suffering from it.

But all may not be lost. Those friendly, smiling, friendly people are still there. It just takes a little digging, but you can find stories on the web about the good deeds that people are doing; random acts of kindness by strangers.

As for who gets  the most press, celebrities or criminals; it’s the squeaky wheel of mayhem, chaos, and gossip that gets first crack at the news. The more lurid and sensational the better. While you or I might think that it shouldn’t be that way, it’s what many people want to read. As for the criminal, they are  allowed to have his or her day in court, but they shouldn’t get their 15 minutes of fame by it. So it is probably a tie. And I didn’t even mention politicians.