I spent last week back in Barcelona, with loads of work but in very good company. This sort of homecoming has been warmer than I would have hoped for and it definitely put me in a good mood. Nonetheless, I remain in a sort of loose attachment to the US and news from the other side are still affecting my humour. Some of them are quite astonishing.
Last Wednesday back in good new US of A, CNN's star journalist Larry King was to interview Michael Moore about his latest documentary "Sicko" dealing with the country's (in-existing) social security system. Moore remains a controversial figure in the States even after having won two Palmes d' Or and wide acceptance in Europe. His interview was highly anticipated especially after allegations that he might even be persecuted for filming in Cuba, thus breaking the long-standing embargo. But it so turns out that as in many aspects of life, in modern electronic journalism as well, there is always a bigger fish that can eat the smaller. And it appears that nowadays in the USA there can be no bigger fish, than the ultimate star of emptiness, probably the world's most renown person for having done absolutely nothing, a legendary personality of mythically quantum proportions, the planet's most famous person for just being famous, the greatest celebrity of them all, Ms Paris Hilton!!!
For the ignorant residents of the Old Continent, who -like me- thought until recently that the aforementioned princess of nullity was actually the hotel of the French capital, I can only contribute by providing the background. Ms Hilton was once arrested for driving drank and her license was revoked. After having been spotted to drive (an achievement not easily undermined for such a person) without a license, she was miraculously sent to prison for a three-week term, during which the earth (or at least its US counterpart) stood still, holding its breath before the suffering and torment of the young damsel. Last week she was let go after serving her sentence and the media where there to capture the scene live, on a broadcast that according to an eye-witnessing journalist was covered "less like the liberation of Paris Hilton and more like the liberation of Paris itself in 1944".
During the last days of our princess' imprisonment and while she was still scribbling down her memories of the ordeal in the pages of her version of "Notes from the Underground" or "Prison Diaries" (soon to a bookstore near you), the mainstream media were negotiating a price with her family for her first interview after three weeks in captivity (pardon me, I meant imprisonment). ABC offered 100.000 dollars, then rumours put the number set by NBC in the upper 6 digits but when the word was out and in fear of a(nother) scandal the Hilton family fell back and granted the interview free to CNN and Larry King. The "King" of interviews was highly discouraged to complain once he was explained that Paris Hilton is the "hottest" interview he could get right now next to Usama Bin-Laden. And so it went. CNN set a timer counting down to hour-0, the blond debutant came, saw and conquered tens of millions of spectators, reading parts from the aforementioned "Prison diaries" finally and irrevocably proving to her critics all over the world that YES she can read! The show was repeated only a couple of hours later after nationwide demands.
What do I care? I think, apart from the ridiculous side, there are some issues at stake here. Electronic media are proving to be something different that what they initially set out to do (or aren't they). Smart asses running CNN, FOXnews, NBC e.t.c. care less and less everyday, about what really matters and could thus be classifiable as "news" and more about what would bring audience, therefore money. If people care about what Paris Hilton has to say, the media will give them exactly that. Some will be touched by the drama of the suffering heiress, some will have a chance to feel extremely clever just by comparison, some may even be pissed that a girl at her age, status and level of accomplishments (please stop laughing it's politically incorrect) gets to better treatment than the UN general secretary or a Nobel laureate. What they all missed was a chance to listen to Michael Moore explaining to them why they are likely to die without help if a hurricane leaves their city in ruins or a madman with a shotgun severely injures them in their college dorm. But that is a different story.
So what do I care? It would be so much better if the "audience" (and this of course includes me as well, I was watching CNN while in the US) would ask themselves the same question. What the freaking hell do I care about Paris Hilton? And just so as to add an optimistic tone, "Glory and Honour" to a real journalist, Mika Brzesinski of MSNBC who after reading the news about Paris' "freedom" tried to burn the script with a lighter live in the studio and apologized to the spectators for having to open the newsflash with such an incredibly stupid and useless piece of information...Once more proving that there are people over there that still think.
(pay tribute to Mika Brzezinski by adding one more hit to her action at youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdNcCcweL0
Goodnight and good luck!
Last Wednesday back in good new US of A, CNN's star journalist Larry King was to interview Michael Moore about his latest documentary "Sicko" dealing with the country's (in-existing) social security system. Moore remains a controversial figure in the States even after having won two Palmes d' Or and wide acceptance in Europe. His interview was highly anticipated especially after allegations that he might even be persecuted for filming in Cuba, thus breaking the long-standing embargo. But it so turns out that as in many aspects of life, in modern electronic journalism as well, there is always a bigger fish that can eat the smaller. And it appears that nowadays in the USA there can be no bigger fish, than the ultimate star of emptiness, probably the world's most renown person for having done absolutely nothing, a legendary personality of mythically quantum proportions, the planet's most famous person for just being famous, the greatest celebrity of them all, Ms Paris Hilton!!!
For the ignorant residents of the Old Continent, who -like me- thought until recently that the aforementioned princess of nullity was actually the hotel of the French capital, I can only contribute by providing the background. Ms Hilton was once arrested for driving drank and her license was revoked. After having been spotted to drive (an achievement not easily undermined for such a person) without a license, she was miraculously sent to prison for a three-week term, during which the earth (or at least its US counterpart) stood still, holding its breath before the suffering and torment of the young damsel. Last week she was let go after serving her sentence and the media where there to capture the scene live, on a broadcast that according to an eye-witnessing journalist was covered "less like the liberation of Paris Hilton and more like the liberation of Paris itself in 1944".
During the last days of our princess' imprisonment and while she was still scribbling down her memories of the ordeal in the pages of her version of "Notes from the Underground" or "Prison Diaries" (soon to a bookstore near you), the mainstream media were negotiating a price with her family for her first interview after three weeks in captivity (pardon me, I meant imprisonment). ABC offered 100.000 dollars, then rumours put the number set by NBC in the upper 6 digits but when the word was out and in fear of a(nother) scandal the Hilton family fell back and granted the interview free to CNN and Larry King. The "King" of interviews was highly discouraged to complain once he was explained that Paris Hilton is the "hottest" interview he could get right now next to Usama Bin-Laden. And so it went. CNN set a timer counting down to hour-0, the blond debutant came, saw and conquered tens of millions of spectators, reading parts from the aforementioned "Prison diaries" finally and irrevocably proving to her critics all over the world that YES she can read! The show was repeated only a couple of hours later after nationwide demands.
What do I care? I think, apart from the ridiculous side, there are some issues at stake here. Electronic media are proving to be something different that what they initially set out to do (or aren't they). Smart asses running CNN, FOXnews, NBC e.t.c. care less and less everyday, about what really matters and could thus be classifiable as "news" and more about what would bring audience, therefore money. If people care about what Paris Hilton has to say, the media will give them exactly that. Some will be touched by the drama of the suffering heiress, some will have a chance to feel extremely clever just by comparison, some may even be pissed that a girl at her age, status and level of accomplishments (please stop laughing it's politically incorrect) gets to better treatment than the UN general secretary or a Nobel laureate. What they all missed was a chance to listen to Michael Moore explaining to them why they are likely to die without help if a hurricane leaves their city in ruins or a madman with a shotgun severely injures them in their college dorm. But that is a different story.
So what do I care? It would be so much better if the "audience" (and this of course includes me as well, I was watching CNN while in the US) would ask themselves the same question. What the freaking hell do I care about Paris Hilton? And just so as to add an optimistic tone, "Glory and Honour" to a real journalist, Mika Brzesinski of MSNBC who after reading the news about Paris' "freedom" tried to burn the script with a lighter live in the studio and apologized to the spectators for having to open the newsflash with such an incredibly stupid and useless piece of information...Once more proving that there are people over there that still think.
(pay tribute to Mika Brzezinski by adding one more hit to her action at youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdNcCcweL0
Goodnight and good luck!
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