Maybe Crime Won't Pay for Paris

This morning we heard that NBC had snagged a deal with Paris Hilton for her first interview after being released from her jail stay. Reportedly, the deal included payment of a cool $1 million for "exclusive video, pictures, and materials" from Paris and her family. Sure. Over the course of the day, I heard yelping around the world about NBC paying for an interview. Now, it seems the interview is off. Apparently ABC and Barbara Walters also walked away from a deal(they offered $100,000.) So it looks like the mainstream media isn't going to pay Paris for her crimes. Good.

Ever since this all started with Paris, I've been trying to figure out the fascination. I don't get it. She's a 28 year old unemployed heiress who gets paid to make personal appearances at parties and events. That's how she makes money! What makes her so interesting to the rest of the country? I have to wonder if the rest of the country even cares because no one I knew was dying to find out what was going to happen to Paris as MSNBC and all the other news networks kept things focused on her house that fateful day.

Is it the MEDIA? Are they deciding this new slant on the news? They claim they're giving the American public what it wants, but have they bothered to really ASK us? There's nothing wrong with a blurb about a celebrity now and then, but to spend hours on end talking about a rich heiress' trip to the slammer seems a little much. What happens to her isn't going to affect me.

What happens in Iraq IS going to affect me. Is it the art of distraction? If they fill the airwaves and web with useless news about celebrities, then we can't focus on all the atrocities happening within this administration. While everyone has been discussing Paris, more of our soldiers died in Iraq. More of our young men were injured in the line of duty. While we talked about Paris, the price of gas went up, but the gas companies made more profits. While we talked about Paris, Vice President Cheney refused to comply with an executive order and actually tried to abolish the office set up to enforce those rules! Did you know that?

Probably not because NBC, ABC, CNN and all those other news outlets were too busy telling you about Paris and her hard luck time in jail.