Don't shoot the messenger (but if you do, call me)

When you watch the news on TV or read a newspaper, you should realize the information you’re getting is a complete crap shoot. There’s a nerdy chick or guy sitting behind a desk somewhere deciding which stories are getting covered and which ones are not; and behind them sits an editor with complete veto power.

It’s a very subjective job. How do you pick the newsworthy stuff? Liberals choose bleeding heart, “down with The Man”, anti-establishment crap. Conservatives go with the right is right, everyone else is wrong stories. Savvy news managers go for blood and gore – the shock factor.

People say they get tired of the “bad news” media; they don’t want all the murder and mayhem. But papers with these stories sell more than anything else. TV ratings don’t lie. It’s just glorified gossip, and there is no such thing as “good news” gossip.

Bad news is more fun.

We want the dirt. We want to know who did what to whom and how they got caught. We want to gasp at the tragedy, the depth of depravity, and the scandals. Because then what we do, what we go through every day, is not so bad. We can breathe a sigh of relief because we didn’t get caught; the tragedy didn’t happen to us, our families and our secrets are safe.

Have a nice day.