Recently Lisa posted about the increasing links between news and business and how that can lead to “news stories” that closely resemble ads. We received another example of questionable media choices when Anne K. of Real Media Ethics sent us a link to a story at CNN.com titled, “Too much attention to Gosselins, ‘Octomom’? The article is about whether there is too much media coverage of these families at the expense of other topics. A quote from a “CNN legal analyst”:
How sad, really, that there’s this insatiable appetite among American news consumers for stories like that — about people’s shortcomings. Is this the first time somebody has had a divorce, or in Octomom’s case, is this the first time that somebody has been a lousy parent?” Bloom asked. “We are fiddling while Rome burns, covering these stories ad nauseam.
From the bottom of the article:
Kurtz asked if either “Octomom” or the “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ sagas could fade from the media spotlight after Gosselin and Suleman’s TV shows this week.
Ogunnaike said the opposite is likely true. “There could be more, unfortunately,” she said.
It’s definitely an issue worth discussing–I mean, there are some other rather important issues going on in the world. But as Anne points out, it’s not that “there could be more.” There most definitely will be more…and CNN advertises the fact with this teaser banner placed in the article itself:
Setting aside the fact that this article itself provides more coverage, CNN gets to act like a concerned, reflective news outlet, questioning media obsession with the Gosselins and “Octomom” (though never seeming to directly interrogate their own behavior that much–it’s more of a generalized “media” that is at fault)…while also providing a teaser to a story that is part of that obsessive coverage right in the middle of the text. That’s impressive, really.
NEW! (Jan. ’10): Shaunna Mc.G. sent us another amazingly hypocritical example of media outlets berating us for caring about celebrities, then telling us more about them. This time it’s Dr. Drew, of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” on the “Today” show (from Gawker):
See also the guest post on media coverage of the George Sodini murders and what warrants a slideshow?
