The USDA food pyramid suggests 2-4 servings of fruit a day and with that said I think we’re all currently meeting those requirements and even going over the allotted 2-4. Why? Because O.J. Simpson is dominating the news of the day yet again!
Not many of us are surprised by the fact he is again appearing a courtroom and under arrest. Nor are we surprised to see it all over the television. Let’s face it, if it bleeds it leads…if it’s sex it sells, if it’s O.J. it’s (fill in the blank here). I’m not taken aback at the attention O.J. Simpson has gotten over the suspected armed robbery in Las Vegas over the weekend but I am curious -- A) is anyone surprised and B) does anyone care? I would guess the answer to A would be NO and B would be actually YES. If people didn’t care and if there weren’t ratings for O.J. related stories – the networks wouldn’t be hanging on every court motion and breaking in with live coverage. After all the O.J. Simpson murder trial was popular enough to solidify cable news 24/7 and the careers of the likes of CNN’s Nancy Grace, MSNBC’s General Manager and host Dan Abrams and Court TV’s Star Jones among many others.
But is this older (not wiser) O.J. news? To the Goldman and Brown families – absolutely. And I am sure they would be thrilled to see O.J. finally behind bars – whether it’s for the deaths of their son and daughter respectively or for what seems like a ridiculous move by O.J. this weekend to retrieve “his #@*!” Also, I honestly think a lot of folks in the country would be happy to see that as well because we’ve all been on this road trip together since we saw the trial unfold on CNN and Court TV. We have all become invested in this man’s story and the wronged family’s story – for better or worse. Whether it’s for reasons of football, the Naked Gun movies, or the infamous car chase on the Los Angeles freeway – we’ve been there for it all and so I guess it’s only right that we’re there for it now. In fact, going a step further I like to think that we’ve all been there for the Goldman and Brown families – and that we are rooting for justice. But does that premise make it news worthy?
Hmm news worthy…. In this day and age of the 24/7 news cycle ranging from Iraq to Brittney Spears to Interest Rates to Anna Nicole Smith to Health Care and political scandals….it’s a tough call. But does it ever cross the line? I mean you put the O.J. arrest on the cover of a magazine and it sells. You put his court proceedings on the television and it gets ratings.
So what about the other news? Is there any or is this just a slow news week?
My question to you all:
What other news would you be covering?
Fill in the blank “If it’s O.J. its ________”
Thank you in advance for sharing your comments and answers!
Laura
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Comments: 48
-a
The mainstream media loves these kind of stories so they don't have to cover real stories that matter like:
A. AHMADINEJAD wanting to vist ground zero.
B. AHMADINEJAD speaking at Columbia University
C. AHMADINEJAD and CHAVEZ, the worlds biggest nuckleheads, speaking freely in a country that allows free speach while they supress it at home.
D. 60 Minutes interviewing AHMADINEJAD and giving him credibility as some sort of respected national figure.
Do you wonder why the mainstream media is held in such disregard?
A slow news week? Heck no! But to the morons at CNN, MSNBC, Fox, ABC,NBC,CBS, NY TImes, etc, it must be.
What are we going to do about it? Well, look, no one's watching the national evening news by ABC.NBC,CBS! The NY Times and other dead tree newspapers are dying because of what they report and how they report the news! That's why talk radio is so big. They stop consuming it. It's that easy, the marketplace takes over!
PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA!
Local news is always an option (just not always on) to get balance – but hey if you watch the cable nets long enough you'll find options there too. I think the news and programming directors as well as individual show producers are faced with many questions on whether to cover and for how long.
Thanks for commenting!
-Andrea
There is this great pop culture cross over in our country and on so many levels. Take the political race right now. You've got Presidential candidates vying for the celebrity vote (and money) but more importantly -- votes. You see the courting of African American celebrities at Oprah's fundraiser for Senator Barrack Obama and the fundraiser held a week later by Magic Johnson and Quincy Jones (close friend of Oprah) for Senator Hillary Clinton. And why is this an important are to court many voters? Because of the coverage in unique areas and the reach celebrity has and the attention it gets. People are interested in these lives for different reasons – some are interested because it's purely entertainment others are interested because they want to get to know what they stand for in outside of the studio set. We look to it and cover it in politics and just for celebrity in general. O.J. is the classic example of the pop culture dominance in our country (and of course, Brittany is too!).
Thanks!
Funny – have to comment on your humor first – it does become quite a media circus around O.J. Simpson – that's for sure but people do go to the circus even if they don't like clowns. Guess what I'm trying to convey is that people want to watch even if they are not fans or are disgusted all together. It's like rubbernecking on the highway – you don't want to look but you slow down anyway. And when you walk past a TV set with a story on OJ even though you're totally sick of him – you stop and look and get the latest. Doesn't mean you have to like it – but everyone else is talking about t so you might as well be informed as well!
In this case I would say OJ is definitely the clown and even if you tune in for the cotton candy or real news that you do like – you're bound to run into a clown.
Hopefully he'll end up behind bars and it will be the last time for this clown to be walking around free in his big clown shoes.
Thanks for your humor and for chiming in!
I'm not sure how many persons are like me but I'm tired of hearing about OJ. His picture on the cover of a magazine would keep me from buying it. However, there is an element about this quite similar to The Larry Craig thing. We love to see the high and mighty brought down! Whether it is a senator or a popular football player, our perceptions are distorted and biased and we will turn on them and enjoy their downfall as quickly as we will cheer their successful carry of the ball.
I believe theses are American phenomenons because of the vast amount of money we've become willing to spend on pure entertainment that is unprecedented in our history.
I agree basically with your comment but remember that OJ is not a "suspected" criminal on the killings. He is an "exonerated" citizen. Like you, I "feel" that he did the murders but the jury, who sat through the trial and were charged with making the decision, decided he was "not guilty" which, in our system with a presumption of innocents going in, means, innocent! This new alleged crime remains to be resolved. I doubt that he can afford the likes of Johnny Cochran anymore!
Insightful as always. People love this kind of stuff, personally I couldn't care less. I do hope the Brown and Goldman families do get some kind of Justice. I change the channel when it's O. J. all day. But really back in '94 he was probably one of the biggest celebs around. So there is still interest, I like my O.J. with tequila and a little grenadine. Really enjoy your articles.
Now it seems to be the first in a long string of Los Angeles celebrity cases that just leave me baffled. I guess Phil Spector will be next to join this "club"...and all I can say is ugh...what a joke. Maybe he'll actually serve some serious time this time around.
Oh and to the above comment.... he WAS found liable for the wrongful death of Nicole and Ron in the civil- still guilty, even if not in the criminal case!
In civil court they do not find criminals "guilty" but rather they find people responsible in a financial way. That is being challenged and will probably go to the Supreme court as a verdict of "not guilty" should be prima fascia proof of innocents in any other court. But we'll see. And if we don't know for fact that OJ was guilty, which we cannot if we weren't there, justice, of sorts, has been done.
If OJ is found guilty of charges in this matter he should be sentenced exactly like any other person committing the same crime. No better, no worse. He gets no sympathy from me, or condemnation.
If it's O.J. it is what it is.
Other topics needing coverage? How about global warming which was front page news this summer and then totally disappeared from the radar screen. What has really been happening with global warming that nobody seems to know? Arctic ice melt set a new record this year a few days back. The Secretary General of the U.N. gave a speech noting that the time for talk is long past and the time for action is overdue. Our President has attempted to burnish his nonexistent credentials as a climate change warrior by signing meaningless agreeements with other like minded governments who refuse to commit to meaningful sacrifices, but prefer to set vague goals without any penalties for failure to reach those goals. And the American people, rather than embracing necesary sacrifices, hides from them, preferring to study up on O.J., Britney, and a host of other celeb troublemakers.
Celeb worship over real challenges to our nation. ARMs over fixed rate mortgages. Common theme? Why deal with something important but long term when I can focus on a short term triviality.
These are the stories that saturate our living rooms on the 6 o'clock news and land on our sidewalks every morning. Can our kids tell us who won the Nobel Prize for Peace last year? How about the Pulitzer literary award? It's unlikely. But they're well aware of Britney's lack of underwear, Ozzie's filthy language (repeated by his own children on his "reality?" show) and who's screwing who in Hollywood.
This sounds like locking Al Capone up for tax evasion. The arrests are for something lesser than what they originally did, but the end result is the same.
This might be an historic occasion so please make a note of the time and date of this posting, but for once I actually agree with you 100% without reservations. You hit the bulls eye dead center with your comment about our celebrity obssessed culture. If we want to know why the media keeps shoveling this inanity down our throats, we need look no further than our own mirrors. As long as we keep our mouths open like little robins waiting to receive the regurgitated food from our mother's beak, the media will keep regurgitating this swill into our open and waiting mouths.