What the media can be
Even though I can hardly say I "served in the press corps", I did work at a newspaper for three years. Although I wasn't a reporter, my journalism minor in college certainly exposed me to the ethics and morals of journalism, which I still believe in.
So, it does rub me the wrong way when I hear people complaining about "mass media" or "the press", as if they were all one homogenous group of jackals waiting for an appropriate paparazzi moment. Despite the damning influence of big publishers and the squeeze of money on print reporters, they by and large do a good job of getting needed stories out to the public. Don't tar every reporter with the same brush.
If you want to know why Michael Jackson and Runaway Brides make news, you can blame two things: money and ratings. Advertising is a newspaper's only revenue and it's slim pickens. Ratings are the only effective way of determing what will be cost effective. Better ratings means more reporting. Thus, what you WANT to read takes precidence over what you SHOULD read. It's an important difference that dumbs down the quality of reporting everywhere. You may not WANT to hear about millions dying in the Sudan, but maybe you SHOULD.
Despite all this, there is, of course, still plenty of good journalism going around. This isn't the only (or best) example, but I was especially proud of reporters after reading this exchange between them and the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, on Salon (you may need to watch an ad briefly first). You can practically see McClellan sweating bullets as he attempts to tap-dance out of a difficult situation, but they never let him out of their sight.
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While we're at it, here's some great news stories I read today:
The rise of Islam extremism in Europe
Side effects of drugs can be...bad
Obvious news on driving and cellphones, yet important nonetheless