Manufactured news

Manufactured news is everywhere. That is, news that is really not by definition news, either because of its irrelevance to each of our personal lives or the well-being of the nation. This, of course goes on all the time, otherwise there would be no need for the vast array of public-relations firms.

The problem arises when this aspect of sensationalism and ratings-driven news takes over what the nation deems is important. Besides the re-election of Tony Blair as prime minister of Britain and the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, this week's news cycle has been mostly dominated by irrelevant news stories.

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The big news story of the week was that of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks. As we all know, she ran away and didn't tell anyone, but later called and falsely said she had been kidnapped. Now that all this has been aired out, the police are upset and Wilbanks may end up in legal trouble. The real question is: Why should I care? The controversy of this "runaway bride" may prove to help the economy of the otherwise unknown Duluth, Ga., considering the mass of media converged in the town, but it means nothing to the rest of the country.

Another big story that was headlined by more than a few news outlets this week was the "American Idol" expose on ABC's "Primetime." I watched the hour-long story about the supposed affair between "American Idol" contestant Corey Clarke and judge Paula Abdul and I really don't know if I firmly believe the claims they made, but I do know this: Corey Clarke's publicist is brilliant.

Countless times throughout the program, they played video of Clarke singing songs from his upcoming record. For more than a week, this program was hyped by leaks from ABC, but, in the end, the program proved to be a shameless ratings ploy on the part of the network and a publicity stunt for Cory Clarke. Now, Paul Abdul is slated to appear on "Saturday Night Live" – so it may not turn out all that bad for her either.

That same night, over on CBS, Dr. Phil hosted a primetime special with an emotional interview with Pat O'Brien. They went into all the details of his perverted answering machine messages, his alcoholism and his substance abuse – all the usual tabloid trash. Yet, this trash was highly exalted on the mainstream media network and, just like the "American Idol" special, this one was no doubt a ratings ploy for the May sweeps.

Really, the only thing remarkable about either of these entertainment stories was all the attention that Americans, including myself, paid to them. It's almost cyclical in its fashion. These types of news stories are hyped beyond belief, and the networks then air the dirty laundry on national television, and all the Hollywood junkies talk about it for the next few days. The hype is the story.

The mainstream media continue to grasp for America's attention and they are doing anything they can and going way below the standards of journalism in an effort to garner the ratings they need. How long will it take for us to look back on these days and realize that the hype of entertainment-news went way too far and led to a degrading industry?

The demise of the mainstream media has long been heralded by conservatives and this week has been a testament to its slow death. The mainstream media is filling its primetime news slots with irrelevant fluff news even while there are urgent problems around the world that could be helped by investigative reporters. It's quantity, not quality that makes the air on ABCNNBCBS. Fortunately, this is a free market, and the bad decisions of today's mainstream media are making the success of tomorrow's new media.