Beware! The Newspocalypse is Coming!
Have you heard about the newspocalypse?
No?
If you look at the news it is clear that the newpocalypse is nigh upon us.
It struck me today, walking down a hallway at work (not that the location really matters - but in case it does it was near the cafeteria on the way back toward my desk ;) ) that the current hullabaloo about the royal baby is the perfect example of the nearing newpocalypse. I know the last time I wrote about the newpocalypse was after the marathon bombing in Boston.
I get the shouting to the four corners of the world from the highest tower/mountain you can climb is what we used to do, but global communications have...oh my, they have had a serious multiplier effect on the whole business.
I have to stop and ask, does the headline of the birth of the happy couple's newborn really need to be the highlight of the news for so long? It's more than fifteen minutes (even fifteen hours would be generously underestimating it) of fame. It is a single baby of all the children that were born in the world that day.
How many of the other children born that day received anywhere near as much attention for being evicted from the womb? Well, I say "evicted" because it wasn't the kid's decision, can I say today is the day the child is alive when it was alive inside the womb? I could say it "escaped" but that would imply the kid had a say in when it decided to come out.
Which, aside from that it means that the parents start to interact with the child in a more meaningful way (feeling kicks is only so meaningful - I know how this sounds, I don't mean it to sound so heartless...or detached emotionally but you can't even really hold your baby yet) is...how deserving of attention?
While I get it would be billed as "human interest" I'd rather read about other things.
I walked past a television today (in the cafeteria - probably seconds before I was struck by the pending newspocalypse) and they were talking about Princess Diana. I didn't catch why they were talking about her other than it was in reference to the baby. I couldn't help but wonder if that was really necessary?
It left a bad taste in my mouth that the media was talking about her considering the role the media (paparazzi, close enough) played in how she died. Couldn't they have done the story without bringing her into it?
I looked at a news website the other day (with a more traditional origin rather than an internet news website) and it was all about the baby and other fluff articles. I couldn't honestly find any news I was interested in reading despite looking through all of the different categories they report on.
When there was nothing but meaningless articles about fluff (Hey, where's the nutter?) I realized that if they didn't write fluff the twenty-four hour news cycle was on the verge of the newspocalypse and that's the beginning of the end.
I hear it starts with the Four Pony Expressmen of the Newspocalypse.
I wonder if they arrive late with a damaged (or wet?) newspaper and/or if they will go postal....
Is that how it starts, a rider from the old and retired pony express going postal after delivering the very last newspaper to ever be printed?
There's a story in there somewhere.
No?
If you look at the news it is clear that the newpocalypse is nigh upon us.
It struck me today, walking down a hallway at work (not that the location really matters - but in case it does it was near the cafeteria on the way back toward my desk ;) ) that the current hullabaloo about the royal baby is the perfect example of the nearing newpocalypse. I know the last time I wrote about the newpocalypse was after the marathon bombing in Boston.
I get the shouting to the four corners of the world from the highest tower/mountain you can climb is what we used to do, but global communications have...oh my, they have had a serious multiplier effect on the whole business.
I have to stop and ask, does the headline of the birth of the happy couple's newborn really need to be the highlight of the news for so long? It's more than fifteen minutes (even fifteen hours would be generously underestimating it) of fame. It is a single baby of all the children that were born in the world that day.
How many of the other children born that day received anywhere near as much attention for being evicted from the womb? Well, I say "evicted" because it wasn't the kid's decision, can I say today is the day the child is alive when it was alive inside the womb? I could say it "escaped" but that would imply the kid had a say in when it decided to come out.
Which, aside from that it means that the parents start to interact with the child in a more meaningful way (feeling kicks is only so meaningful - I know how this sounds, I don't mean it to sound so heartless...or detached emotionally but you can't even really hold your baby yet) is...how deserving of attention?
While I get it would be billed as "human interest" I'd rather read about other things.
I walked past a television today (in the cafeteria - probably seconds before I was struck by the pending newspocalypse) and they were talking about Princess Diana. I didn't catch why they were talking about her other than it was in reference to the baby. I couldn't help but wonder if that was really necessary?
It left a bad taste in my mouth that the media was talking about her considering the role the media (paparazzi, close enough) played in how she died. Couldn't they have done the story without bringing her into it?
I looked at a news website the other day (with a more traditional origin rather than an internet news website) and it was all about the baby and other fluff articles. I couldn't honestly find any news I was interested in reading despite looking through all of the different categories they report on.
When there was nothing but meaningless articles about fluff (Hey, where's the nutter?) I realized that if they didn't write fluff the twenty-four hour news cycle was on the verge of the newspocalypse and that's the beginning of the end.
I hear it starts with the Four Pony Expressmen of the Newspocalypse.
I wonder if they arrive late with a damaged (or wet?) newspaper and/or if they will go postal....
Is that how it starts, a rider from the old and retired pony express going postal after delivering the very last newspaper to ever be printed?
There's a story in there somewhere.