The "Paris Hilton Paradox" (according to CNN)

Progressive U readers who have been following my blog for some time will remember a few articles that I wrote (three in total) with regard to the inappropriate amount of coverage that is given to celebrities in the news.  My opinion, in a nutshell, is that, unless celebrities are actually in the process of doing something monumental (such as a multimillion dollar donation to charity), they should not be featured as news items.

This story is a very brief "blurb" on CNN, but it echoes my sentiments:  "According to e-mail we receive, people say they don't care about certain items. Yet, according to traffic statistics, these items are often the most-read on the site, which means we're all creating a Vicious News Media Coverage Cycle. These items include Brad 'n' Angelina's baby, Barry Bonds' home run chase, who's running for president in 2008 and Paris Hilton. I can't explain it either. ..."

Obviously, the same people who are disgusted with our obsession with celebrity news are not the same people who are inflating those web site traffic statistics, but it's interesting to note that people who are able to recognize the relative unimportance of celebrity lives are in the minority. There isn't much more that can be said about this issue (at least coming from me), but this is one of the first times that I've read something like this on a major American news source.