 |
|
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
July 11, 2011
/ 9 Tammuz, 5771
Casey Anthony: The TV Show
By
Bernard Goldberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I have long believed that we live in the United States of Entertainment. And our fascination with the Casey Anthony trial does nothing to change my mind.
We were drawn to the trial because it was a TV show, and we Americans love a good TV show. This one was a reality TV show with real characters and real drama, unlike the phony reality shows that litter the television landscape and aren't even real. And this real life drama show had a real star — Casey Anthony — who might be sentenced to death at the end of the show.
Wow!
Who cares about the bozos on the Jersey Shore, or the Kardashian bozos, when you can have Casey Anthony in your living room? Did she do it? Did her father do it? Did he really molest her? Was he having an affair? Will the jury vote for a lethal injection in her arm?
This is what we call "good television."
And we were fascinated with the trial even though it wasn't even an important news story, except of course, for the people directly involved. It wasn't about race, like the O.J. Simpson trial. It wasn't about fame, which explained why so many Americans were hooked on the John Kennedy, Jr. plane crash story. It wasn't even by the clash of classes in our culture.
But it was about something we can't resist: the pretty girl next door — on trial for her life.
Sure, we have two wars going on where Americans are dying for their country. But they don't get one-tenth the attention that Casey Anthony got. Sorry, all you military folks out there dodging bullets and rockets. You don't get ratings — unless of course a bomb goes off and kills a whole bunch of people while the camera is rolling.
That's also good television.
What about the debt crisis and the budget and stuff like that? Those are real stories with serious consequences. Why don't we get more of that from journalists who keep telling us how respectable they are?
We will get hours and hours of that on television. I'm sure of it. When hell freezes over.
But not all trials involving young women and their dead little girl make for good TV. For instance, if Casey Anthony were a black woman with a black baby, the TV networks wouldn't have given the story 10 minutes, from beginning to end. Remember, this was a true crime drama about, Casey, the girl next door. The white girl next door, with the cute little white dead kid.
And if there wasn't any video of the adorable little girl, you wouldn't have seen much of the trial on TV, either. TV rule #1: You must have video if you want to get on the air.
And if Casey was fat. Or ugly, with a big pimple on her nose. No way they'd cover that trial. It's also against the rules.
But TV executives aren't the only shallow ones. So are lots and lots and lots of Americans. In fact, we can be a remarkably shallow people at times. And this, my friends, is one of those times.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
JWR contributor Bernard Goldberg, the television news reporter and author of several bestselling books, among them, Bias, a New York Times number one bestseller about how the media distort the news. He is widely seen as one of the most original writers and thinkers in broadcast journalism. Mr. Goldberg covered stories all over the world for CBS News and has won 10 Emmy awards for excellence in journalism. He now reports for the widely acclaimed HBO broadcast Real Sports.
He is a graduate of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey and a member of the school's Hall of Distinguished Alumni and proprietor of BernardGoldberg.com.
Previously:
• 07/0706/11: Standards and Double Standards at MSNBC
• 06/29/11: Is Jon Stewart A Racist?
• 06/21/11: Let's Play the Race Card --- Just for Fun Of Course
• 06/20/11: Sarah Palin and Weiner's Weiner
• 06/03/11: Memo to GOP: Turn Mr. Obama into Mr. Yesterday
• 05/20/11: I Get Letters From People Who Should Be Locked Up
• 05/09/11: Is ‘Torture’ Ever Justified?
• 05/02/11: The Promiscuous Use of the R Word
• 04/19/11: The Man Behind the Million Dollar Smile
• 04/12/11: What's the Difference Between Libs in Politics and Libs in the Media?
• 04/08/11: An Idea Whose Time Has Come — and Gone
• 03/28/11: The Pundits Are Driving Me Crazy --- And You Thought Qadaffi Is Nuts
• 03/14/11: No Liberal Bias at NPR — Just Ask NPR
• 03/10/11: The media's frustration
• 03/01/11: Progressives Lost in Time . . .
• 02/23/11: The Lamestreams Strike Again --- This Time in Madison
• 02/03/11: You MUST Own a Gun --- Or Else!
• 01/20/11: It Was Horrible, I tell you … HORRIBLE!
• 01/11/11: Here We Go Again . . .
• 01/06/11: You Go, Oprah
• 12/28/10: A Year-Ender --- The MSM and Obama's Fall from Grace
• 12/14/10: Thank
Heaven for Rich People
• 12/02/10: The Phony Nobility of Wikileaks
© 2011, Bernard Goldberg
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
