Rehab, ink, and a pair of clippers. Recipe for success-I think not. In case you haven’t noticed, Britney Spears, your success has come and gone. The former beloved Mouseketeer has had not only a rough year, but a rough couple of days. The question on most Americans’ minds is: But why do we have to see it on the front of every paper, for a spread of four whole pages?
For those who are gossip buffs, awaiting every detail the paparazzi can give us (like me), the latest Britney fiascos get our adrenaline pumping. However, for others it’s pure nonsense. Suddenly, the front page of almost every paper isn’t an update on our country’s current war, but a photo of a bald has-been pop star.
In the last week, Britney has entered rehab and left it, three times. She took the drastic measure of shaving off all her hair, and adding two new tattoos to her list.
What is going on with her?
Many question her mental stability and of course her ability to take care of those poor children. Yes, sometimes it is forgotten that Britney has two little ones at home. Last year, the media caught her numerous times almost dropping the children, or driving with them in her lap. This behavior is what grabs our attention. Ironically enough, Kevin Federline is looking pretty decent right now.
The normalcy of a celebrity is never publicized, only the controversy. Yet not everyone wants to hear about it, and when it floods the papers, do they really have any other choice? The information is available in many other places as well, including magazines and especially Web sites.
Should the American public, those working hard just to support their families, be subjected to seeing this wealthy woman going out of her mind?
No.
Those who want this gossip can easily retrieve it. Everyone can see the pictures or even the video of Britney shaving her head. The newspapers are just trying to take advantage of it and the attention it’s receiving; however, it lacks the respectable subject many of their stories usually have.
Is someone shaving their head really important enough news? If a normal middle class woman shaved her head bald, Americans wouldn’t look twice. Yet somehow, this pop star (mind you she hasn’t had a hit in more than two years) gets a couple of tattoos and goes bald and the world goes crazy. There is a point though, when sympathy goes out to the token celebrity caught by the paparazzi. Privacy is not an option for them, and that is something most Americans will never understand. For newspapers to go a step past that and turn it into an ongoing cover story is utterly ridiculous.
There are much more important issues in the world today. Maybe we just don’t want to notice them or maybe we need a reprieve from the our drab daily existence, but whatever the case the newspaper needs to start printing some news and not just something that can be read in every tabloid every week and worse yet Britney Spears is not the only celebrity newspapers are exploiting.
Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the recent trials surrounding her baby and remains have bombarded the papers. The newspapers are taking away her dignity and her family’s dignity as well. They are turning this tragedy into a soap opera, adding a new character to the case every day. The woman passed away and it is tragic, why is it still front page news? Haven’t you ever heard of Rest In Peace? Well, Smith is getting no peace.
Here a hint for the newspapers: leave gossip to the gossip columns and tabloids. The newspaper is where Americans turn to for the real news.
