I found out last week that the world was ending. Although the media outlets made me believe that the Armageddon was already in process, mercifully I discovered that I will be able to continue living my life until September of 2011. What happens in September 2011? Is it a far-off asteroid threatening to turn our planet into dust? Did a virus just mutate into the death spore of the 21st century? No, worse! Oprah Winfrey will go off the air.......and then immediately come back on the air.
Hold on a second, why is the world's rotation going to come to a halt again? Are you telling me that my life will never be the same because Oprah is finally getting off her couch? I am supposed to feel 2 years of sorrow and foreboding because a talk show is switching from network TV to cable TV? I am at a loss for words on this one. Not only am I confident that my life will continue unphased by this non-event in human history, but also I am mildly hopeful that the rest of humanity will survive as well.
Although tragic that people with basic cable will have to buy all new cable packages, I must ask this most basic of questions: Why is this news? I am sure some people will tell me that the Oprah Winfrey show is an iconic piece of America. Although sad to admit, this is in some way true. Others will say that Oprah has done so much for communities around the world that whatever she does is news. I agree with the first part of that statement. However, I would argue that a change in TV programming, even the Oprah Winfrey show, should not receive national news coverage for a week. Oprah is not retiring. Oprah did not die. Oprah simply wants you to pay her more money to watch 24 hours of re-runs. Although Oprah will no doubt spend some of that money on philanthropy, I again will state that this is not national news.
This whole thing is indicative of a larger, more troubling dynamic. The problem is that the news has been transformed from a source of unbiased information into a glorified marketing machine. Originally commercials were the vehicle for marketing messages, but now people can skip right over those. In order to make up the ground that commercials lost the programs have become the commercials. I am not simply talking about product placement or celebrity endorsements (which are everywhere). I am talking about the "experts" who cover everything from finances to marriages. I am talking about the stories covered and the people interviewed. Everyone is trying to sell you something.
Think about it for one minute. Our national economy has been converted from one of manufacturing to one of consumption. The government doesn't want you to spend money, it needs you to spend money. America is built on you spending money. When you don't, we have a financial meltdown (i.e. like now). Therefore, it makes perfect sense that all forms of media slowly have been turned into one big commercial.
Unfortunately, the one place that should fall outside the advertising blitzkrieg, the news, has succumb to the same woes. We now have news channels that advance political agendas, sell memoirs, hawk beauty products, and stoke our feeling of entitlement. This truly is a sad day indeed. I am waiting for the day when I can sit down and watch the news without feeling as though I need my wallet and a voting ballot next to me. I may be waiting a for a very long time.
