Entertainment or News? - Kent Ninomiya

Kent Ninomiya - If you watched TV or read a newspaper in the past week, you might be under the impression that we are no longer at war, the economy is no longer in a downward spiral and gasoline prices are no longer hitting all time highs. It would seem that the sexual habits of New York's governor, an off hand racial comment by a former vice presidential candidate to a small newspaper, and sermons by a pastor who knows a presidential candidate are the most pressing issues facing our nation. Journalists en mass are flocking to the scandalous and away from what's important. Sidebars about celebrities who cheat and debriefing so-called experts about why men go to prostitutes produces very little useful information for the average American. Convincing the public that a "scandal" results from comments made by people only slightly connected to a presidential campaign is a gross misrepresentation. Why are we not focusing on things the presidential candidates are actually saying? Why are the sexual activities of the Governor of New York important to anyone not living in New York? Journalists have a duty to put news in context. What we cover is considered important just because we cover it. When we skew public perception by chasing the tabloids. Meanwhile people are dying in war, families can't pay their mortgages and the price of everything is going up because gas prices are at an all time high. Compared to those things, who really cares about the New York governor's sex life? Kent Ninomiya