What's "Real News" to you?

There lies a bittersweet truth concerning today's media outlets. As the years go by, we are constantly bombarded with a new definition of "real news". Ideally, we all expect news to be the recent crime that occurred right outside our house or the brutal lynching that is still going on in Southern states. It could even be the recent casualty that occured a whole continent away. However, these "crucial" issues have taken a backseat to the more "popular" events.

I can not begin to describe how amazing and surprising it is to see that a whole segment of the news reports are primarily dedicated to the latest contestant booted off of American Idol, or the tragic breakup of the entertainment world's most "hottest couple".

All of these convenient distractions only enable us to frolic in the failures and pitiful lifestyles of others; which only serve to make our lives seem 10 times better. It is no secret that we all love to see ourselves in a higher light. Not to mention, these distractions are so much sweeter and softer to the eyes. Who wants to see a graphic photo of a sick civilian? Who wants to see those shots of a worn body? No one.

Façades can be seen as tarnished visuals or ideologies that blur our sense of reality. They are seen as helpful, because it is so convenient for us to indulge in entertainment news.

It's so ironic that blogs have even taken to being a person's primary source for news. No longer do we read the newspaper or watch impartial news...we choose to go for what is convenient and cost effective: the Internet. It is now easy for anyone to become a writer or a journalist. You've got the scoop, you've got the ratings.

Don't mention bad things to me,
I want to hear the latest gossip.
I want to know who broke up with you and who is sleeping with who...
Who has a child by who and how old the child is...

We are so caught up in other people's business that is mostly (half of the time) false. I can't say that I am not guilty of this intellectual crime. No one seems to pay attention to their media outlets anymore. Half of the time we consume these juicy stories and never even notice the fewer instances of stealth marketing or product placement. We're just so distracted.

I guess I'll just have to get accustomed to what the television dishes out to me at the expense of knowing what is really going on in the world. I have to come to terms with the fact that more people vote for the next American Idol or the Top Model of the week, before voting for president or state officials. After all, the future of our country doesn't matter; we can't make a difference there.

I doubt I'll want to pursue my past hopes of being a journalist...I couldn't fathom giving out bias information...the world has no place for objectivity (or so it seems).

What's your take on it? What is your definition of "real news?" Is it the viewers who have determined what they see? After all, we are the ones who want to hear the gossip.