What Should the Media (Not) Talk About?

these days media is talking too much about looking perfect...I see titles like 'get celebrity-like hair', 'get sexier body' on almost every beauty and body magazine. Yes, we all want to look good but media is putting too much emphasis on looking slim, having spotless skin, have silky, shiny hair...such an emphasis can make some people hate their bodies or develop inferior complex about themsleves.

When you're in the military, they stress that we shouldn't EVER tell ANYONE when you're leaving on a mission, where your mission is taking you, what kind of mission it is, etc. We take this "never tell" concept very seriously and I wish the media would do the same. I also wish they'd stop reporting on things that are irrelivant to, well, anything. MJ is still dead and is in no way related or a re-encarnation of some Egyption from thousands of years ago, the Obama's are all media w%^&*s who's main mission is to drive this country into the ground (though I'm sure they're wonderful people), and there are problems with any democratically forced bill as well as a slight economic depression that we're all trying to work through. (That's my short list)

Had a dyslexic moment, meant "Destroy". LOL, it's been one of those days!

I've grown tired and weary of the media trying to destory the Presidency (you know who you are!) just because they're disgruntled with the present policy agenda.

I think the news media ought to avoid certain topics that might foil police or government efforts to apprehend criminals. For example, "The police are searching the neighborhoods near Lake Buena Vista for the suspects." Great! Now the fugitive knows exactly where NOT to be. Or, how about "Our nuclear facilities have the following weaknesses that have officials worried about a potential terrorist attack." Sheesh! Give it all away, why don't you?

How about just reporting the news; no commentary, just the news! How I miss Huntlely & Brinkley. (But that was before the News Agencies had been forced to bow to the "bottom line".

If you spend one penny on those trashy, hateful, supermarket checkout aisle gossip magazines, I'm afraid YOU are guilty of what everybody seems to agree is what they should not cover... The media are for profit, so they will be covering what their big advertisers want them to cover - and ignoring things that they don't want people to know about. The big pharmaceutical conglomerates basically run the media now. Even Fox.

Gossip sells because people like to read it. Even hough I profess to 'hate" it, I can't seem to stop skimming the headlines at the grocery check out stand, and have to force myself to NOT pick up a copy of People magazine to read more. That being said, gossip is gossip, how about if we simply stop calling it news. It's not news, it follows none of the guidelines that journalists are presumed to follow.

As for 'bad" news, this also sells because people buy it. Magazines and newspapers print what sells, because when it comes down to it, it is a business and they also have bills to pay. Now that the face of newspapers, magazines and journalism is becoming reader generated, maybe we will see a shift in type of things people are interested in hearing about. But then again, maybe not. At least we will be getting a more well rounded version as people with different viewpoints express their version, leaving the responsibility up to the reader to form their own opinion.

I get tired of celebrity gossip run into the ground. Once the tragedy of the death of a celebrity wears off than comes the scandal & negative publicity.

Although it's interesting to see what some high profile people are doing, they still deserve a certain amount of privacy & respect. It's a shame an event such as a wedding, birthday party or child's baptism is interrupted & upset by the media & paparazzi.

I've long since given up on the morning network "news" shows. Thank goodness for CNN and MSNBC. But even they had to talk about Michael Jackson. I'm sorry for his family but he and other celebrities are nothing to me. Stick to the news! I agree with Brie, there are many other things going on in the world that never get reported. Let's have more science, medicine, archaeology etc. news. Save the celebrities and other "news" for the E network.

Hi

As far as the press is concerned, print all the celebrity clap-trap in one section so I can TOSS it and people who actually care about who dates whom can read to their hearts' content. As far as TV news is concerned, keep the celebrity NON-news/Michael Jackson hooplah/etc, on a 15-minute segment so I can turn it off! I agree with those who wonder why we should even CARE about Jessica Simpson's love life! The problem seems to be that media compete for attention and if one station starts it, every other one picks it up.

I completely agree with Natalie about the media's extreme focus on the negative. All it does is promote a culture of fear and anxiety in this country. And yes, leave the celebrity fluff to tabloids and similar publications. Of course there's an audience and a demand for it, but maybe if it wasn't shoved down our throats so often, we wouldn't get caught up in the rumored lives of others and would instead start focusing on what really matters--local and global affairs that actually affect us, not who's breaking what starlet's heart this week.

Serious news orgs should stick to the real stories and leave the celebs out of it. I also think we should do a better job of conveying scientific research findings, and more energy should be devoted to getting it right rather than selling the headlines. Many times well founded research is matched up against opinion and this does nothing but distort factual evidence. It's no wonder that about half of the nation doesn't believe in global warming. There's a serious disconnect between the research and how it's being conveyed.

I agree with Rebecca but right next to her headlines I saw another headline about Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo breaking up. Who cares! I want to know what's really important like swine flu, Afghanistan, and the two U.S. journalists in Korea.

Our media spends way too much energy on celebrities. There are entire networks that do celebrity coverage, so when I turn to CNN, I want real news! I want to know what's going on in the world, not another replay of the Michael Jackson funeral. And we wonder why so many people can't locate Iraq on a map, yet they can name every one of Brangelina's children. It's sad.

It's refreshing to see that the Sotomayor confirmation is grabbing some headlines today, rather than another story on Michael Jackson's prescription drug use. Of course, the Sotomayor story was right next to a story about how cats actually control people, so I suppose it's one step forward, two steps back.

Anything celebrity related. There are tons of other places to report on who’s wearing what and doing who elsewhere. It’s disturbing when a segment on Afghanistan is followed up by coverage of some newly pregnant reality star.

This comment has been DELETED on July 14, 2009

I don't think the media should make a lot of noise about "miracle cures" or other pop medicine unless a) it has stood the test of time and is scientist-approved, or b) the media report is a public service message warning of the dangers of said product. A lot of people will rush out to buy anything that they see Oprah, etc talking about--which results in a lot of people unnecessarily wasting money/getting sick. The media have a lot of power, and they need to know the effects they have when they wield it.

I think all the news coverage - whether it's about murders or celebrities, etc. - makes us all way more stressed out than we need to be. I won't go so far as to say that ignorance is bliss, but I think I would be happier if I didn't know about every single murder in the country, or how one person died of a flu, or that I should be as skinny as Jennifer Aniston. We are exposed to so much bad stuff that we can't really do anything to help, so we just feel overwhelmed, which leads to stress. I think we should be more localized and centered in our own communities, where we can actually act on the things that are important.

I agree with Nicki to a degree. We should not publicize murders and rapists. Many of them are looking for this celebrity. Locally all we hear about is murders. Certainly there is news that we need?

I think the media has gone too far regarding celebrities. It is harmless to know what someone wore but that kid you referred to as her "almost-son-in-law" is a waste of space (or air). Who cares what he thinks?

Our media is very biased now. Rather than just reporting the facts, they add their unique slant to their story...as if news should be editorial. It should not be editorial. Look back 40 years ago and you will see news stories that were black and white...not this grey matter that we are stuck with in 2009.

I believe that people are tired of the way that so much "news" is just no longer news. We have NO SOURCE to just get the information. It is a terrible way to live in a free America.

I think we spend way too much time giving people 15 minutes of fame when they don't deserve it. Bring it to our attention a family that needs support because someone is dying from cancer, was murdered, a plane crash, shooting spree. Let us know so we can support them, but don't glorify the killer for committing the murder - keep their name/face OUT of the news. They don't deserve the attention if they want to get it by doing something horrible! We need to remember everyone dying from cancer, heart failure or whatever, not just the celebrities. Plus celebs are real people too, I think sometimes we should just let them live their lives and do their jobs. Life is life and we need to focus more on making our life great even if our name isn't known to the whole world. Besides whether 10 or 10 million people know your name you are important and have a purpose. It all comes down to what really is important.