Junk Food News: Entertainment Media 2004
By Peter Phillips, Joni Wallent and Ambrosia Pardue
"We are the best entertained least informed society in the world." Neil Postman
Project Censored at Sonoma State University in California holds an
annual competition to select the top ten most frivolous,
over-reported news stories of the year. We call this list Junk Food
News because it fills up the American airways and newsstands with
celebrity gossip and meaningless coverage of the unimportant. Famous
lives provide us with an entertainment rush and a false reality that
radiates in comparison to the darkness of war, business fraud, and
government repression. This year's selections were voted on by the
200 students, faculty and media researchers who work with Project
Censored and hundreds of other people world-wide who are members of
our weekly independent news listserv at www.projectcensored.org.
The dubious honor of this year's number one Junk Food News story goes
to Janet Jackson and her Super Bowl exposure. It shocked our nation -
so the corporate media claimed - and set off a Federal Communications
Commission tizzy over a nipple. The vulgarity and sleaziness of the
rest of the half time show seemed to slither back into the dark
without a stir. It seems that a nipple being exposed is more
important than the real, life-shattering issues of our nation and
world.
Coming in at Number 2 is Ben and J. Lo's breakup. They were making
news even before they called their relationship off. They graced the
covers of magazines and tabloids, and had people waiting anxiously
and holding their breaths over what the couple would do next. The
"rock" that "Jenny from the block" had sat pretty on her finger for
only so long. Even though Ben and J. Lo are over, they have not faded
from memory or from corporate news celebrity gossip.
At Number 3 are the Hilton sisters. Few people had heard of them
before this past year, but now it seems they are everywhere in
mainstream media. Paris gets the most attention from her sex video,
The Simple Life. It seems that many actually do care about a rich
girl who doesn't shop in Wal Mart.
Britney Spears makes this year's list again, coming in at Number 4
with her marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander. The two were
married on a Saturday in Las Vegas, and had their marriage annulled
the next Monday. It seems that every move of Britney's is made done
to create attention. The corporate media loves using her to build
titillated viewership.
Amazingly, Martha Stewart made the top five spot with her
ever-present face in our court system. Whether or not Martha was
innocent or guilty, this high profile case was dragged out by the
media and her products can still be found on the shelves at Kmart.
Rounding out the top ten for 2003-4 Junk Food News list are, Britney
and Madonna's kiss, Trista and Ryan's Wedding, American Idol, The
last episode of Friends, and Ashton and Demi.
While there is nothing wrong with enjoying entertainment, there is
always an opportunity cost that affects public access to important
news stories about the critical issues in our lives. Junk Food News
consumes the limited time and space for news stories in the corporate
media. Entertainment becomes news. Reality TV is news at 6:00 PM.
Project Censored believes that it is crucial to democracy to have a
healthy media, a media that is able to inform on critical events and
not just serve as a means of diversion.
Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University
and Director of Project Censored. Joni Wallent and Ambrosia Pardue
are research interns for Project Censored.
A special Thanks to Dr. Carl Jensen for creating the Junk Food News
annual Awards.
--
Peter Phillips Ph.D.
Sociology Department/Project Censored
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707-664-2588
http://www.projectcensored.org/
--------------------------------
Project Censored
http://www.projectcensored.org/
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