The media frenzy and spectacle surrounding the recent Anna Nicole legal proceedings and Britney Spears' head-shaving outing are mind numbing. To say the media and American public are fixated on these two tragedies is an understatement. What does it say about a culture that likes to watch in the words of NBC's Matt Lauer, "slow motion destruction"?
The death of President Gerald Ford didn't generate as much media coverage as these two troubled women. You can't get away from the stories, reports and proceedings. After a recent workout, I walked into the locker room to shower and a group of men were gathered around the television. I was expecting earth-shattering developments out of Iraq; an announcement by the President, or a member of Congress; or minimally a natural disaster somewhere in the world. Imagine my surprise when it was live coverage of the legal proceedings and battle over the burial of Anna Nicole! Why do we seem to elevate the tragic lives of celebrities over stories that are genuinely newsworthy?
My reactions to all of this have been various and diverse. Perhaps the "old school" broadcast journalist within me is rising to the top. I remember learning how to discern what is news and what is sensationalism, or gossip. Having to answer the question, "When does a reporter report the news or sensationalize something that should otherwise be left to the privacy of families, counselors, therapists and the church to process, help and sort out? Think about it----can you ever imagine Walter Cronkite reporting such a story on the CBS Evening News? Perhaps it was the parent within me cringing because these stories of dysfunction could be interpreted by thousands of teenagers as normal and healthy because in their mind the media has validated it through excessive coverage. Maybe it was my pastoral DNA that aches for the children who will grow up one day and see how their parent behaved in public and every one saw it. It could be the Christ-follower in me that simply grieves over lives spinning out of control in search of significance and meaning, when I have personally discovered that significance and peace come from Christ alone and desperately want others to experience it.
The death of President Gerald Ford didn't generate as much media coverage as these two troubled women. You can't get away from the stories, reports and proceedings. After a recent workout, I walked into the locker room to shower and a group of men were gathered around the television. I was expecting earth-shattering developments out of Iraq; an announcement by the President, or a member of Congress; or minimally a natural disaster somewhere in the world. Imagine my surprise when it was live coverage of the legal proceedings and battle over the burial of Anna Nicole! Why do we seem to elevate the tragic lives of celebrities over stories that are genuinely newsworthy?
My reactions to all of this have been various and diverse. Perhaps the "old school" broadcast journalist within me is rising to the top. I remember learning how to discern what is news and what is sensationalism, or gossip. Having to answer the question, "When does a reporter report the news or sensationalize something that should otherwise be left to the privacy of families, counselors, therapists and the church to process, help and sort out? Think about it----can you ever imagine Walter Cronkite reporting such a story on the CBS Evening News? Perhaps it was the parent within me cringing because these stories of dysfunction could be interpreted by thousands of teenagers as normal and healthy because in their mind the media has validated it through excessive coverage. Maybe it was my pastoral DNA that aches for the children who will grow up one day and see how their parent behaved in public and every one saw it. It could be the Christ-follower in me that simply grieves over lives spinning out of control in search of significance and meaning, when I have personally discovered that significance and peace come from Christ alone and desperately want others to experience it.
Each of us must find our own response. As for me, I've decided to switch channels on this stuff; ignore sleazy headlines at the grocery; avoid the tabloid news shows and Internet sites that pass this stuff off as credible and circulate these stories as truth like someone forwarding the countless urban legends circulating the Internet. I've also decided that as a professing Christ follower I need to pray for Anna's infant daughter, Britney's children, and Britney's sobriety. I must pray for their peace, care, and protection. I must also weep in prayer and long for their discovery of eternal significance. Given the ongoing behavior it's enough to keep us busy and away from the celebrity rumor mill. Bottomline? Erase the glitter and hype, and these are real people just like you and me. They need peace, forgiveness, accountability, encouragment and unconditional love. I guess every Christ follower should answer the question: "Am I promoting truth, exalting Christ and edifying His church by reading, watching and forwarding these stories?" I've found my answer, now it's time to pray.
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