Trends in online journalism(1)

It seems to me that way too many news sources are transfixed on what the president says or does that has nothing to do with the running of our country.  But this is what people want to read, they would rather be told what the president thinks of Kanye West than what his views are on healthcare. I get it, I mean who wouldnt love reading about how the president refers to an entertainer as a “jackass” than read a mundane article about the presidents views on healthcare in our country.  Of course this will attract the eye and our attention quicker than a headline entitled ,”President Obama’s responds to the nations outcry for universal health care.”  Obviously when asked what is the more important of the two articles, i’d assume everyone would choose the article concerning the healthcare of our country. But which one is an easier and more entertaining read? Of course, the article that claims the president called someone a jackass. But why are we as consumers of news only go for the easier of the two articles? If we know which one is more important, why do we not read that article instead? I wish I knew the answer, because even I will read the article about Kanye West over the article concerning healthcare.  We, as a country love reading about entertainment, we are fascinated by the lives of celebrities.  Their lives are full of glam and prosperity to a point that we are filled with envy, so we want to consume as much news as we can about them. It’s as if, our lives are not entertaining enough for ourselves, so we try to live the life of another by reading about them and keeping up to date with their lives according to the paparazzi. Which is sad, because we should be enjoying our own lives and not dwell on the lives of others, that is not a healthy way of living. I personally do not understand what the hype is with keeping up with celebrities. I can’t even watch television shows concerning celebrities, for example, as the Kardashians, or Hulk Hogan.  But there is such a huge market in the entertainment industry exploited entertainers, it’s quite the conundrum. If we read a newspaper in during the great depression or prior, we wouldnt have seen an article concerning an actress or musician, if there were any it might only detail if they were performing, it wouldn’t dive into their personal affairs.  News should go back to the more traditional style and focus more on the stories that are important. Kanye West is comical to say the least, but shouldnt not be recieving more hits online than the presidents view on healthcare.

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=67&aid=170096