The article that I’m linking to herehad the teaser headline “Rihanna Caught Smoking Pot,” and I’m probably being part of the problem just by linking to it, but the point of tonight’s blog is shoddy journalism.
My Kind of Gal
She wasn’t “caught.” She was photographed smoking a big, fat doober and a tweet of hers in which she said something along the lines of “relaxing with a big, fat joint” was quoted.
Then, the first line of the story says “Rihanna is living a rough life these days.” She is pictured relaxing on a beach chair in Hawaii, smoking aforementioned blunt. Nothing rough about it.
Now, since I am not all young and hip I actually didn’t know who Rihanna was, so I googled her. She is 23 years old, grew up on the island of Barbados and is a massively popular and successful pop star with rap influences. It would be news if she announced to the world that, like Frank Zappa, she never smoked pot.
Of course, everybody, including the journalists, will tell you that sensationalism sells. That’s exactly what I’m questioning here. Could it be that we’ve just been repeating that mantra for so long, that we’ve got our heads so far up our news-consuming asses, so to speak, that we’re failing to see the alternative possibilities?
This is the age of the internet and cable TV, for goodness’ sake. With all of the market fragmentation, isn’t there room for a “tell it like it is” site? Here are a few headlines I would like to see:
Rihanna Gets High, Has Pleasant Weekend
Ron Paul is Serious Candidate
Police Have No Clue, Just Going Through Motions
Tax Cuts Fail to Create Jobs
Hollywood Stars Dress Fashionably, Give Each Other Awards
Building 7 Collapse Still Not Being Investigated
Scientists Prove Marijuana is Good For You
Because sometimes reality is, in its own right, worth reading about.
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