The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the royal bride Kate Middleton are expecting a baby. And that is being depicted as news in almost all major media outlets.
I didn’t know who Kate Middleton was and had to look her up. England still holds these monarchists title that are largely irrelevant in terms of their say in Britain’s affairs, more of a ceremonial position. I’m happy for them and I wish them luck. I have not and plan not on giving another thought to this piece of information. What bothers me is how and why this is being fed to us as “news.”
MSNBC, CNN and Fox News have all covered this many times in the past few days. Why is that inherently wrong? One may ask. It is because it is irrelevant, trivial and has no reason to be covered like an important world event. The print media is just as guilty about excessively covering this affair. A Huffington Post report shows the New York Times clearly spattered this story on their front page.
Who is pregnant, who is sleeping with who and who is on the verge of a nasty divorce are things that I can only help but glance on some magazine covers when I’m in the checkout lane at the grocery store and I have nothing better to do. Even then, I am never tempted to rummage through the voyeuristic stories about the rich and famous.
The reason this is being covered as “news” is because people that have no real aspirations have the time and energy to read, speculate, and criticize the public figures, especially when it comes to their personal lives. To their credit, US Weekly, People, TMZ and other such gossipy publications are in business to make their living out of selling peoples’ lives to those hungry for an escape from their own lives. I just think news organizations should hold themselves to higher standards and not attribute purely trivial information, like Kate Middleton’s pregnancy, as breaking news covered in prime-time news shows and on front pages.
Tabloids and News organizations are two distinct categories where the lines need not be blurred. The editors of such publications who in the immense thirst of ratings, website hits, or whatever else drives them, should take a hard look and begin prioritizing world events in terms of their real, human aspects.
I’m happy that the Duke and Duchess are starting a family, but at the same time there are plenty of kids in our city, our country who will suffer because of hunger, poverty and medical conditions. I’m not advocating for more activism, just suggesting more professionalism from the media outlets.
