News

 The news isn’t the news. The news is what the news media deem to be the news, the news that gets ratings and sponsors. Harry, Meghan, Brittney, Kanye, Kim, Taylor are the news because they get attract audiences. But what about Malala or Greta Thunberg or any of the veterans of combat who come home with no support and struggle every day?

Where are the stories of the policemen shot in the line of duty? Where are the stories of the captive young women struggling to escape the sex trade? Their stories are no more than short blips on media screens.
As human beings, our empathy needs to be directed to those who show courage, who serve, who exemplify a decent life, not to those who entertain us and whose notoriety and wealth bring them attention.
The news spends too much time telling us how we’ve failed and not enough time telling us how we’ve succeeded. Popularity and fame are not necessarily indicators of excellence, courage, integrity or lasting significance.
What does it say about us that we are complacent with news that is filled with chit-chat and sports silliness? News where we hang on the words of the coach or the quarterback. News where there is no arts reporting. We forget that the news is an important element in making sense of the world, not of distorting the way we see the world.