Dear American Public,

I have no excuse. I have no defense.

I am a member of the American news media and have been for some time. This means that on more than one occasion I have — willingly or unwillingly — foisted upon you the trite, the inane, and the monumentally ridiculous and done so under the auspices of my supposed right to inform and educate you as to important events that affect your lives. I have been party to the beaming into your living room of seemingly endless video loops of JonBenet Ramsey dressed as a five-year-old prostitute. I have encouraged various interchangable Ken-and-Barbiesque meat-puppets, pompous and breathless, to sincerely attempt to convince you of the hidden threat lurking in your underwear drawer. I have conspired to make you believe that you were, at any given moment, in danger of being eaten by a shark. I have actually written the words “Every Parent’s Nightmare” — more than once in fact. I have dispatched correspondents to Aruba in search of Natalee Holloway. I have marveled at the ingenuity behind using an episode of “Dateline NBC” to promote “The Apprentice.” I’ve been good friends with Rick Sanchez for 16 years.

In short, I have betrayed you. I have betrayed your trust.

I have let you down.

Yet I’ve never felt compelled to humbly ask for any sort of forgiveness for my offenses. I have never felt true shame, both for myself and my chosen profession — until now.

I’m sorry for the coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

I’m sorry that so many supposedly venerable news organizations have elevated the all-but-inevitable self-destruction of a B-list former stripper, Playmate, hack actress, gold-digger, tabloid queen, and all-around piece of human flotsam to the lofty heights of near-Shakespearian mythology. I’m sorry that we have treated an absolutely meaningless event as if it were somehow nothing short of a cultural earthquake, sure to send reverberations and tremors throughout society until they shake the very foundation — the very soul — of every man, woman, and child in America. I’m sorry that we have devoted hour after hour to discussing and debating such asinine subjects as the paternity of this horrid woman’s baby — even being willing to proclaim, with a straight face, that its father might be the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor. I’m sorry that we’ve allowed Wolf Blitzer and Diane Sawyer to look no better than Pat O’Brien and Maria Menounos. I am truly sorry that we have, even for a moment, lent a shred of credibility to the opinions of Nancy Grace.

During the past week, those charged with the awesome responsibility of relaying to you the global, cultural, political, economic, and medical news that you rightly expect and demand from us have instead willingly allowed ourselves to be taken hostage by every permutation of loathsome, opportunistic degenerate — each claiming to be able to add yet another spoonful of pabulum to the pot we’re all too happy to stir. During the past week, hundreds of American soldiers and innocent civilians have been killed in Iraq — as our focus shifted to one minor celebrity who died just off the Florida Turnpike.

We have failed you.

We have failed ourselves.

The only possible consolation is that many of us are well aware of our own ethical bankruptcy in the continued pursuit of this absurdity. I could explain at length my own feelings in the matter, but better I allow an anonymous colleague of mine to be the eloquent, impassioned voice for the thousands currently toiling away on this story at otherwise-reputable news operations across the country:

“I’m sorry, but I did not spend tens of thousands of dollars in school to cover this bullshit. She’s a celebrity for fucking the unfuckable; that’s not an accomplishment. I actually announced to the newsroom this morning that I didn’t go to journalism school to cover a two-bit Texas whore and that, if this was the kind of news we were covering, I could use my diploma for toilet paper. It’s unbelievable. BREAKING NEWS??? I’m really sorry that the drug addict OD-ed, but that’s what happens when you’re an overweight drug addict.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

With Contrition,

Chez

Chez Pazienza is a television news producer and the voice of Deus Ex Malcontent.

Keep it in the Religion section, bible boy.

You know, I'm glad you posted that.

I've been thinking about the media a lot lately. It seems to me upon recently having had first hand experience with both sides of the media that both the liberal and conservative wings are guilty of sensationalism for the entertainment of the masses. If there isn’t a story or the story is over, leave it to the media to FABRICATE one from hearsay (although I don’t believe hearsay to even be a minimum requirement).

Recently, a lot of things have happened here at school that have put us in the eyes of the community and nation. I have to honestly say I have taken every possible opportunity to tell every reporter what a spineless scumbag they are. Twice, I’ve made passing comments as their crew was filming or preparing to film and twice I’ve told them flat out, face to face what I think. I have to say the reporters act like the thought that they’re HARMING their community has never even crossed their puny minds. Apparently their soulless, yet locally semi-famous existence allows them to disregard the fact that their chosen headliners inherently drive people apart. As if that isn’t enough, their presentations of stories are specifically designed to widen the already-present chasms that are race, gender and socioeconomic status.

I suppose the preceding comments might make me sound naïve. However, I realize there are forces at work that silence the few reporters that actually care about the objective reporting of the news. I realize that there are way more incentives to incite just the right amount of social unrest focused toward anything but the machine. I realize that our society is largely composed of the apathetic and absent-minded but why should we let the invisible hand of Adam Smith cover our eyes any longer? It's a shame Manntis is the only one that'll make it this far.

Adam Smith ?