In the digital age we live in we are inundated with media stories every day.  It seems that late-breaking news becomes the headline, byline, and sideline of every print and audio-visual medium under the sun when the story is scintillating enough to perk the public psyche.   Michael Jackson’s death, the John and Kate Plus 8 saga,  Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston; one almost has to question why these stories permeate the fabric of every news rag and talk show under the sun.  As a consumer society we need to ask ourselves when is enough, enough?

How much do media consumers in the general public really need to know to be informed?  Is there such a thing as irrelevant information?  Is it possible to be over-informed?  I think that these are questions that we need to seriously start asking ourselves in the media-driven world we now live in.  What is real news?  What is entertainment news?  When did the lines between the two begin to blur?  These are other important issues that need to be addressed.  Given the current North American obsession with John and Kate Gosselin one would think that their divorce proceedings are as pressing as matters of national security.  While yesterday was Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the United States this seemed to make little difference on network or cable television.  With the exception of the local news, few channels paid attention to the men or women who selflessly offer up their lives on a daily basis to ensure that those in their nations and others live in peace.  Instead, most channels continued to focus on their regularly scheduled programming.  Even CNN chose to air an interview with Carrie Prejean, the former Ms. California who was eventually dismissed from her contract amid allegations she failed to make scheduled public appearances. This came after the pageant admitted to having paid for her breast implants. The interview actually turned out disastrously for Prejean who refused to comment on the settlement that was reached between her and pageant officials when she sued them for her termination on the basis of religious discrimination.  All this to say that a beauty queen’s interview took precedence on a day that is meant to commemorate real human royalty, the men and women of the armed forces.  Thus far in 2009, 141 American soldiers have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, yet CNN, supposedly the democratic news bastion of the US, chose to interview a whiny pageant contestant turned “author” rather than a soldier or veteran on a day commemorating the military.  When is enough, enough?

Real news seems to take a back seat to glamorized entertainment news all the time.  What is it about us as a society that is drawn to things of relatively little importance and not interested at all in matters of global significance? Why do we revel in the details of Michael’s Jackson’s autopsy or even care if Kate Gosselin was seen holding hands with her bodyguard?  How do these details make a difference in our lives?  What do they do to expand our horizons?  Even if we look at the human dynamic element, we must ask ourselves what these mundane details afford us?  Do they make us more empathetic towards these people, more compassionate, more involved?  Not really.  Why do we care? I don’t know, but what I do know is that it is high time that we begin to ask “When is enough, enough?” and start answering, “Right now.”