Headline News on Jolie is the Pitts

The morning prominent news stories of the day were “Castro in grave condition” and “Angelina has a bug of up her butt.” Minor news fare consisted of the” Columbia place crash”, “storm blacks out parts of the northeast”, and “male panda too fat to have sex.” In years past, I might have called this a slow news day. The fact is to my chagrin; Angelina is what is attracting people to the news in all media.

Predicting the future – the inverse method

I am infamous for my profound predictions. In 1974, People Weekly spun off the People feature within Time magazine. I gave the magazine one issue before giving it my astute proclamation, “This is just a fad riding the crest of the wave of the public’s current fascination with celebrity. In time, this will pass and real new magazines will flourish once again.” As time passed People drifted more and into the world of sensationalism and celebrity. The few real news features it once had faded from it pages. Against an onslaught of competition the Queen Magazine of fluff dipped and rebounded to withstand the test of time. Once again, one of my predictions has proven to be “the kiss of life.”

The growth from fad to industry stable

From the springboard of People launched US and a slew of pathetic knockoffs over the years. Television raised the curtain on Entertainment Tonight flooding the pre-primetime hour with many challengers of the years. Cable gave us MTV and The Entertainment Channel. If you say these ventures only succeeded because I pronounced them fleeting flings of fickle followers you are half-right. The other half is they give the people what they want.

Edward Murrow is no longer the news standard

This brings us back to the Angelina bad mood on the red carpet news. The publics growing obsession with the current celebrity of the day had to be addressed by the serious news media to attract a following. Hard news lead ins aren’t the call of the day unless paired with a celebrity sighting or situation at some point. Celebrity sells and that is the real hard news of the day. Is it a fad? It stopped being a fad before the end of the 20th century. It is not just ingrained in the American culture, but cultures all around the world. The Edward Murrow era has ended. Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons have become the demi-gods of news.

Celebrity with conscience

Celebrities are no longer just a tool rolled for political fluff. More and more celebrities are questioning their place in the world. By doing so, they are because the faces for causes once unheard of or little mentioned. The upside is more and more of this has become a genuine side of the person and his or celebrity power. In their actions, there is no personal gain for them. Just realization there is more to life than being rich and famous.

No go deed goes unharmed

There are critics for everything. My favorite is the food critic. Why criticize food? What did it do to you? I relate this to those who bash celebrities for becoming a face of an unknown cause. First, they were bashed for being self-involved money sponges. Next, they were politically incorrect. Now, they are just using an abstract situation to increase their fifteen minutes of fame. This is the prototypical “I can’t win for nothing” scenario. Those that front causes overseas receive flak for not giving attention to causes close to home. Those that do front causes close to home are explained away as having a personal agenda behind there efforts.

Headline news may be the Pitts once again

I yield in my opposition to news presentation preference. Maybe someday we will achieve a better blend between Edward Murrow and Hedda Hopper. Why do I give in? Before Brad and Angelina, there were Brad and Jennifer and prior to that Brad and Gwyneth. Somehow, the world revolves in current times around Brad. Therefore, I know in the future if Brad and Angelina take a walk down the aisle, what the headline news will be.