Where Has All The Real News Gone?

I wish news would go back to being, well, news.

I used to love watching the TODAY show for my morning info download but 6 months ago I stopped. I miss Matt Lauer's company with my morning tea and oatmeal but if I don't catch the 7-8am hour, I'm shit out of luck in hearing any actual news. I have to sit through three hours of lifestyle, fashion, and pop culture fluff for a total of less than five minutes of hard news. Yes, I know the show's ratings are soaring but they've lost me as a viewer - so there!

I now "look" to radio and papers for my news. I especially like public radio. They don't answer to advertisers therefore can actually report real news: politics, war, the economy - go figure.

I bring this up because you can't make a move today without seeing or reading commentary on the Miley Cyrus photo shoot. Yes, I spoke about it yesterday but ONLY in the interest of showing everyone how we are being played by the press!

I guess it's a slow news day aside from tornadoes in Virginia, a 73 year old father keeping his daughter as a sex slave, and 31 polygamist sect teenagers pregnant with older men's children (now that's where growing up in prim and proper cultures gets ya!), the world is pretty much same ol', same ol': gas prices keep going up, home prices keep going down, and the President still speaks and says nothing. So it makes sense that the media take the Cyrus photo and blow it all out of proportion. They need us! Each one of us they reel in means more do-re-mi from advertisers which means they get to keep their jobs (and if you're listening to the economic news you know that's no easy feat).

So, let's chalk this Vanity Fair photo shoot off to a case of parental poor judgment and LET IT GO! Don't assume the worst, that it was a manipulation to get more publicity - what the hell does 'almost a billionaire' Miley Cyrus need more publicity for? You loved her two days ago, now she's a money-grubbing bitch? Please. She's growing up, her audience is growing up, she and her family are just trying to figure out how to keep up.

Let's stop giving all this media created nonsense so much attention - there's real news going on out there. Pay attention to it, stop listening to and reading all the gossip. Maybe then there'll be less of this inanity to suck up our precious time.

A person can hope, no?