Million Dollar Babies

When I walked into the local grocery store today scanning the magazine section to see which of my usual picks I hadn't already picked up, I couldn't help but to shake my head. I realized that the American people have a serious problem, a problem we need help with. And no, it's not the impending deficit and the horrible economy, but it's a serious problem along the psychological level.

America is obsessed with celebrities' babies.

Now, don't get me wrong. This is nothing new- people have always loved to see the little darlings that the celebrities we've watched and grown up with pop out. And I'll be the first to admit that I ooh'ed and ahh'ed at People Magazine's first photos of J.Lo and Marc Anthony's twins. But seeing today that the main headlines of every major magazine and even many newspapers are consumed by Jamie Lynn Spear's baby, the birth of Brad and Angelina's twins, and Mathew McConaughey's newborn, I realized the problem is getting increasingly worse.

The first place that people point their fingers at is the media. Now, on the one hand, of course some of the blame should be placed there. Halle Berry had every right to be outraged at paparazzi going to unnecessary lengths (taking pictures through trees of her, her mother and her daughter in her private backyard) to obtain the first pictures of baby Nahla. The actress even acknowledged the fact that she has to accept media attention as a public figure, but her daughter is not a public figure and she plans to do whatever she can to keep her out of the public eye.

So, of course, the paparazzi have once again gone too far and intruded on somebody's life on a level that was crossing the line. What people seem to forget, however, is that the blame cannot be entirely placed on the media. These magazines are businesses, and in order to stay afloat in an industry that is in crisis, they must write about and publish pictures of what is going to sell. So when People or OK! Magazines spend millions of dollars on the first pictures of Jane Doe's baby, it's not because they are malicious entities that want to expose and ruin the lives of celebrity children. It's because that's what the American people have proven they want to see and will spend money on.

Perhaps it's because the gas prices are so high that people don't even want to drive their cars anywhere so they choose to sit at home instead and gush over the adorable babies of the stars. Babies have a way of cheering people up, of making them smile- something people surely need when the economic state of their country is plummeting by the minute.

But when does it get out of control? When the pregnancy of a 16-year-old Disney channel star is glamorized? When paparazzi completely invade the privacy of a mother and grandmother who are trying to enjoy an afternoon in their own backyard? How about when the headlines go as far as to label the life of a 2-year-old who can barely speak as "lonely?"

So the clear diagnosis is that America does, in fact, have a serious problem. But the question that remains is how do we treat it? What can be prescribed to put on the covers to cure the obsession relieve these innocent children of the media frenzy? Obviously putting something of more depth on these covers is out of the question, because if the readers of US Weekly and OK! wanted to read something a little deeper, they'd be picking up Time or Newsweek instead.

So, the answer is WE NEED MORE SCANDAL! Bring on the A-Rod/Madonna love affairs so we can leave the $3 million dollar babies behind. Now that's a dignified read.

Where Will All The Newspapers Go?

After a weekend in the Windy City at the UNITY Journalism Conference I discovered that I'm not alone. I'm not alone in still holding on to the hope that as journalists we really can change the world, and that the power of the printed word actually does make a difference.

Yet while I'm not alone, all these journalists (including myself) who still hold on to the romantic idea of newspapers and coffee on a Sunday morning have had to wrap their brains around one word: digital. I've had to erase the image out of my head of people around the country reading my work on the cover of a black and white newspaper and replace it with the image of thousands of readers clicking on the podcast that accompanies my article on the main website of a large publication.

While that image doesn't exactly coincide with what I'd always imagined my future work as a journalist would be, the thought of digital change in the world of journalism is actually exciting. I myself am a victim of the digital world, as a blogger, serial text-messager and faithful reader of CNN.com. So in actuality, the print and broadcast world becoming internet based coincides with my lifestyle. As I head towards a career I can apply the skills I already use in my everyday life towards my professional skills.

What's truly troubling, however, about this move into a digital world is where will all the newspapers go? And, an even more troubling question from a journalist's perspective, where will all the reporters go? According to www.disassociated.com, as of July 7th more than 6,000 journalists have been laid off in the past year, a staggering number that has continued to increase each week since.

The phenomenon that is occurring at these publications is the older, more seasoned newspaper veterans that don't have as much digital knowledge are being laid-off and replaced with younger reporters like myself who already know how to accompany their story with an innovative and creative video complete with special effects. While of course my own professional self-interest comes first and foremost, a large part of me is saddened at the thought of the talented journalists whose work once inspired me to enter the field now laid-off trying to find freelance work anywhere they can. As someone who truly cares about the power of the word, it is truly disheartening to think of all the powerful words lost because of these layoffs and cutbacks.

So if I want a place in this new world of digital media, it's goodbye old world, hello new age. In my job search during my dwindling months as a college student, the objective will be to market myself as a tech-savvy, digitally capable journalist who is flexible in this age of change and knows how to edit, shoot, podcast and blog. I'll save the newspapers for my Sunday mornings.

Now, let me finish reading this article on CNN.com about the projected $490 billion deficit for 2009...