I know, call me Mr. Obvious.
News flash II: People still watch this tripe!
Its rise in popularity was all but destined given the desire for 15 minutes of Andy Warholian fame that many people in this country have. It isn’t even limited to the porous northern and southern borders that the United Sates protects as effectively as sun block level 2 on a Mexican Beach in August. It is a world wide problem.
Shows like Big Brother, Temptation Island, Survivor and the Big Kahuna American Idol take mostly no talent, no class and no clue narcissists and thrust them on the American populace and into instant and thankfully short-lived fame. I may get voted off the island for saying so but most of the winners of American Idol have no more talent than can be seen at Karaoke night in a dozen bars across town on a Friday night; although the beer in my living room is a lot cheaper.
Each season these supposedly unscripted bits of entertainment brilliance seem to try to showcase more bizarre, more extreme and more salacious people and events to hold our attention rapt in voyeuristic anticipation. The writers are like my dog after the postman drops a letter through the mail slot; they want to see just how far they can push the envelope. Unfortunately, they are doing it with about as much care and forethought to consequence as my Chow Lab mix takes with each new issue of People Magazine. It wasn’t until I saw a similar issue at the dentist’s office that I realized Nicole Kidman doesn’t always have drool on her face…and that Rosy O’Donnell does.
There have been articles, books and even movies predicting that reality shows will continue to devolve until the science fiction world of televised game show executions that currently exist only in the mind of Richard “can I call you Steven” Bachman become all too real. Unfortunately these shows are cash cows and they, like the extra fee for your checked baggage that was to offset the no longer outrageous fuel costs for airlines, won’t be going away anytime soon.
The same can’t be said of the news division. The networks need a way to pay for these cash…umm…what is the opposite of cow? The networks need to pay for these cash leeches (that is right in so many ways) that are the nightly newscasts. It is only recently that the networks began looking to news as a potential profit center. The networks pay huge sums of money to keep the likes of Katie perky and these also supposedly unscripted, unmanufactured and, really now, unbiased shows on the air.
News programs are not immune to sliding a few paper letter containers around either. I heard rumor that Brian Williams has “If it bleeds, it leads” tattooed on his right buttock. If it involves tragedy, no story is out of bounds.
It is at the intersection where unfeeling and uncaring reporters meet unthinking and “no longer wanting to be” unknowns where the traffic light of reason has burnt out. The most recent execution spree by the “religion of peace” adherents in India is a perfect example.
Two stories, one with an unsurprising tragic end have come to light.
The Shaws are a South Wales, UK couple who were trapped in one of the hotels. Their tale of danger is punctuated with this quote from the now media shy Mrs.
“The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on television. For that reason I would appeal to the media to be very careful about what they broadcast.”
Hey lady, how about being careful who you talk to?
Sadly, the second story does have a tragic ending. A British business man, shortly after talking to the BBC was texting his son when suddenly the texts stopped. His body was later recovered.
While I feel for the family of Mr. Liveras I can’t help but wonder what the hell he was thinking. Have we come to a point where personal safety takes a back seat to cable TV exposure? How soon will it be until other survivors of this ungodly in the name of Allah act begin making the rounds to Oprah, Tyra, Ellen and Larry? If I were in that same situation, I would like to think that I’d be spending my time trying to figure out how to introduce as many of the cowardly gunmen to their promised stable of virgin camels in as painful a way as possible. If I needed to reach out and text someone, it would be to a S.W.A.T. sniper with directions to the closest Jihadist’s head along with wind speed and elevation and not to an info babe at CNN or the BBC!
As evidenced in India, fame can be fleeting. If you are going to stick your head out for no other reason than to get noticed, some less than human may just cut it off. If you feel the need to seek fame, make the reason for that fame worthwhile. If you do that, soon those being noticed will have a noticeably better affect on everyone.
S2
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