Instead of Anna Nicole, this is what I want the media to highlight

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I am so sick of the media highlighting things like “psycho astronaut” and Anna Nicole and celebrities’ troubles when these kind of problems get overlooked and unsolved. Homelessness and child abuse affect far more people than do the stories that the media focuses on.</p>

<p>"LOS ANGELES, California (AP) – A hospital van dropped off a paraplegic man on Skid Row, allegedly leaving him crawling in the street with nothing more than a soiled gown and a broken colostomy bag, police said.</p>

<p>Witnesses who said they saw the incident Thursday wrote down a phone number on the van and took down its license-plate number, which helped detectives connect the vehicle to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site.</p>

<p>Police said the incident was a case of “homeless dumping” and were questioning officials from the hospital.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/09/homeless.dumping.ap/index.html[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/09/homeless.dumping.ap/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) – A man angry his toddler daughter wouldn’t go to bed knocked her unconscious and left her to die outside in single-digit temperatures, police said.</p>

<p>The frozen body of Nyia Miangel Page, who was about to turn 2, was found Sunday at an abandoned playground about a 10-minute walk from the family’s home. </p>

<p>Tiny footprints in the snow suggest she had gotten up and wandered around before she died, police said.</p>

<p>Her father, William Lorenzo Page, 23, of Braddock, was arrested Wednesday on charges of criminal homicide, kidnapping, false reports and simple assault. "</p>

<p>And is now charged with sexually abusing another child in the house.
<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/08/toddler.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/08/toddler.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2

<p>How true, Northstarmom. I turned on my computer this morning to see this as the lead MSN headline: “What Drew Us to Ana Nicole?”</p>

<p>I thought, “Drew me? Not for a second!” This will be a long couple of weeks having to hear about her trainwreck of a life. About as interesting as Brittney Spears’ lack of underpants or Lyndsey Lohan’s rehab.</p>

<p>The radio report was comparing her to Marilyn Monroe. No way! MM was a troubled woman, but she at least had talent.</p>

3

<p>What Drew Us to Ana Nicole?"</p>

<p>I can think of two off the top of my head. </p>

<p>Regular news has just become entertainment anymore. They used to be above the fray but now they slut themselves out to bring in viewers.</p>

4

<p>

LOL! Evil, Opie…evil</p>

5

<p>I know little about Anna Nicole- however it was apparently big news according to how many tvs at the gym were running stories.</p>

<p>I wonder if perhaps we are drawn to stories about celebrities making mistakes that are larger than life, because it makes us feel superior- that given their celebrity status and apparent privledge, their stories aren’t any more noble than anyone else.</p>

<p>I admit I prefer the "feel good " stories. The stories where someone makes a difference. It might have started out as a tragic story but I find that making lemonade with lemons to be positive and inspirational</p>

<p>( I also am so sick of VHI- they run the same stories everyday- even if I go at a different time- Do I care what Ellen Barkins divorce settlement consists of? Do I think that because Christie Brinkley is beautiful it will prevent her husband from being unfaithful?- Do I really want to see Tyra Banks rant against lookism in high fashion?
What they need is something like the visuals connected with itunes- give me some good music so I don’t have to bring my own and something to look at so I don’t watch that poor guy struggling not to feel self concious.)</p>

6

<p>I can’t agree more, Northstarmom! The woman’s life was a tawdry soap opera from start to finish. As StickerShock said, it was a “train wreck” of a life, and people will always carry a fascination for disaster, man-made and natural. </p>

<p>But really, what drove us to Anna Nicole? Obviously, it was a White House conspiracy to distract us from the war! :D</p>

7

<p>I had the same thoughts Northstarmom! If you turn on entertainment tonight you expect gossip and celbrity talk. If you turn on the news, you should get news. My husband is not one to turn away from a pretty woman but he too quickly tired of the “breaking news”. The media blames the public for wanting trash news instead of the real stuff but the media was all over Ana Nicole’s death as if she was known outside of the tabloids. Even our hometown newspaper put the story as a sidebar instead of front page news. I kept clicking through the channels at news time looking for NEWS. </p>

<p>Let’s see, The Christian Science Monitor has the following stories:</p>

<p>New Commander, New Plan…US General Petraeus takes his post Saturday, bringing with him a plan to spread troops across Baghdad.</p>

<p>Chinese leader’s almost triumphal trip to Africa - Growing skepticism met President Hu the further south he went as leaders signaled the end of the China-Africa honeymoon.</p>

<p>Dad wasn’t dad after all, but still owes child support -
A Florida Supreme Court case raises fundamental questions about the nature of fatherhood and legal responsibilities.</p>

<p>Anti-immigrant sentiments fuel Ku Klux Klan resurgence-
Long stuck in splintered obscurity, the group is seeing an increase in activity and a return to its nativist origins.</p>

<p>All interesting, all news…</p>

8

<p>Well, what amazes me is that only in Britain, apparently, do the media consider a story about a cancer cure discovery worth covering - even though it happened in NY! </p>

<p><a href=“http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/newsarchive/2007/february/18055671[/url]”>http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/newsarchive/2007/february/18055671&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>Wow! From Babar’s link:
"US researchers who thought that an experiment was ruined when they found that carefully cultivated cells had died, may have stumbled on a possible new cancer treatment. </p>

<p>Normal human cells can be hard to grow in the laboratory, so researchers often work on rapidly-multiplying and resilient human cancer cells as a substitute. </p>

<p>Dr Katherine Schaefer of the University of Rochester Medical Centre was using cancer cells in this way to examine ways to halt the bowel inflammation found in Crohn’s disease. </p>

<p>Testing a substance known as ‘PPAR-gamma modulator’, she was initially irritated to discover that all the cells she was using had died. …</p>

<p>“The co-author on my paper said,’ Did I hear you say you killed some cancer?’ I said ‘Oh’, and took a closer look.” </p>

<p>On further investigation, the team found that the substance seemed to kill epithelial cancer cells, which include colon cancer, oesophageal cancer, liver and skin cancers…"</p>

10

<p>"Dr Katherine Schaefer of the University of Rochester Medical Centre was using cancer cells in this way to examine ways to halt the bowel inflammation found in Crohn’s disease. "</p>

<p>Yea, but that dress she was wearing was sooo last year. ;)</p>

11

<p>Sometimes I think to myself about cable news, “Call me when all your little celebrity problems are solved and I’ll tune back in!”</p>

<p>The big news story I’m fuming about is the 10 year old boy who has been charged with a felony for pulling the school fire alarm on a dare. Another case of prosecutors gone mad.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/4531988.html[/url]”>http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/4531988.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>I agree completely NSM. And i’ve found that not ever, ever watching TV news is very good for my mind and my heart.</p>

<p>The papers will do just fine; i can skip over the incredibly stupid stuff, and look for what matters.</p>

13

<p>

Thomas Mann</p>

14

<p>This fascination with celebrity–man. I heard a review of the book “Fame Junkies” where the author asked middle-schoolers about future career desires. Given a choice of becoming the CEO of a major corporation, the president of Yale or Harvard, a Navy Seal, a U.S. senator or the personal assistant to a famous singer or movie star, 43.4 percent of the girls chose the assistant role.</p>

<p>Yikes.</p>

15

<p>Well, that’s icky, for sure. but, on the other hand, I wish they could have added some other, less dreary choices-- how about best selling author, Supreme court Justice, fashion designer, architect, doctor, astronaut (okay, maybe not that.) Anyway, that’s a pretty boring list of careers, unless you’re the Navy Seal type.</p>

16

<p>The media is why I do not watch TV on a regular basis. Discovery, History, some sports, and TCM channels get my attention when I’m not reading.</p>

17

<p>CNN reporter on Larry King: “Larry, this has become a media circus!”</p>

<p>Well - you’re part of it, you ding-a-ling!</p>

18

<p>I much prefer the broadcasting power of the internet to the narrowcasting of the television networks. I really do believe they are in a frenzy to survive, the networks that is.</p>