Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Annoying? Yes. Newsworthy? Not Sure.

WARNING: WHAT YOU will see in the above video is shocking (if you are a 13-year old girl from Nebraska) and unbelievably annoying.

But the clip has been run on major news programs across the country and, sadly, around the world.

The video shows teen idol Miley Cyrus taking a hit of salvia from a bong. Salvia is not considered a drug in California, where this video was shot, but salvia is controversial - it is said to cause hallucinations. Some people have called for it to be considered a drug and banned.

Is this video newsworthy?

17 comments:

Alexis Wright-Whitley said...

To some, this may be newsworthy, because the events that occur in Miley Cyrus's life may seem "relevant" to those people. However, I personally do not believe that it is newsworthy. So what? She's a teen, and she is going to experiment. It does not change my life at all. If no kid ever took a hit of salvia in history, then this may be newsworthy, but kids do it all the time. I have a hard time viewing "celebrity news," because they do all of the same things that less popular people in the world do.

Nicole Riley said...

I just don't understand why this would be on the news. It's not really newsworthy other than the fact she is a "role model" and "celebrity". The drug isn't even illegal. This video=waste of air time.

Lauren Haber said...

This video reminds me of the Michael Phelps video where the media showed him smoking weed at a party, too many times to count. While salvia and marijuana are very different substances, regarding effect and legality, I think that the issue about the relevancy of these videos is the same issue. These people are JUST people, and should not be idolized in any way, so that they can do things like smoke without it being portrayed as "news"! I personally do not think this video/story is newsworthy at all, but, sadly, until the media starts refusing to share these videos with the public, we will inevitably see more of these stupid videos, whether we want to or not.

Sarah Froehlich-Hull said...

I agree. Considering the fact that she is smoking salvia, which is legal in California, this has absolutely no newsworthiness criteria. Besides her being a popular teen star. Anytime a celebrity does something semi-controversial it's "news". Leave these stories for the tabloids. At least those mags understand what their purpose is. This shouldn't be a story in any other news publication. Even if she was smoking weed, what do i care? She's just a person (i think we are actually both 18). No, in my opinion this is not newsworthy.

Alison Curran said...

As we discussed in class, celebrities, no matter what they do, are fascinating to the general public. Everything they do, say, where or go is watched by people all over the world. And when a celebrity makes a mistake, then people really get interested in what they do.

Personally, i could care less about what miley cyrus does. She is not the first underage teen to use hallucinogens and she certainly won't be the last. Her biggest problem is that everything she does is watched by everyone and published for all to see.

Do i think this is newsworthy, not really. But unfortunately if we are going by the newsworthiness criteria then it is news. People thrive for information like this. It makes the people who they see has perfect in every way, less perfect and more humane.

Anonymous said...

Taisje Claiborne
It is newsworthy for the simple fact that some will find Miley Cyrus smoking this saliva interesting. To be honest, this is no different than any other story written about a celebrity. Like you said, celebrities are a common factor amongst society.

Giulia Valtieri said...

I could shoot more relevant and significant/important videos at a Temple party. This is is just fluff and only would be considered news to the viewers of Disney channel. I am curious as to if she is even smoking legal salvia.

Anonymous said...

Kaitlin O'Connell

Although she is a teenager and she most likely is not the only one partaking in acts such as this, she is a celebrity. We've discussed in class many times that celebrities are fascinating and interesting to many people because they are what we want to be or what we don't want to be.

Francine Mensah said...

This is most likely to be considered newsworthy criteria because she is a significant person. Miley Cyrus is a celebrity, therefore, things that she does interests people around the world. Although, there are other people that have smoked salvia before, it becomes significant when a celebrity idolized by others engages in such acts.

Cassandra D'Amelio said...

I hate how the world thinks that anything celebrities do are newsworthy. Yes, it will sell, but there is no content behind it. They could dedicate 100 more channels streaming 24/7 of young people ripping bongs around the world. Bigg deal.
Innocent teen idol turns into a burnt-out rebel w.o a cause. We've heard this story too many times! Instead of reporting news, the journalist ended up advertising an available and legal hallucienagen to her fans (young girls)who already try to emulate her.

Unknown said...

Celebrity = common denominator of society = newsworthy.

The real question is, if this is the best thing society can come up with that we have in common, how sad is that?

Hannah T said...

Personally, I don't find this video newsworthy. I mean when I saw it leaked on the internet it was entertaining...but I didn't feel like it should have been broadcasted on major news networks. It's not that it runs the risk of tainting the "Hannah Montanna" image to young girls (that probably went out the window a long time ago), but I am sure there were more important things in the news that day. I feel bad for her that a friend exposed her like this, nobody deserves that. But let's be real here people, she's 18 years old. What were you doing when you were 18?

Sarah Mariano said...

No! Nothing about this is newsworthy. All she is doing is smoking a bong, laughing, and making strange noises. Teens do this all the time and you don’t see them on TV. The only reason this was shown on TV is because she’s a beloved (ew) Disney Channel star who has millions of fans who are thirteen and under. If she found a way to cure AIDS or at least donate some of the millions of dollars she has to a good charity, that would be news worthy, and I would give her praise for once in her life.

James McCreery said...

Salvia is pretty un-real. I recall smoking it once and seeing a whole different world. lol, this shits mad funny..lol.. New respect for hannah montana lol..She is meeessssedd uuuuupppp lol. She must be smoking the "ok" stuff. You can buy this stuff on the board-walk. I think this video is very very newsworthy, it involves a sexy celeb taking a hit of salvia..I had a good time watching it. And i don't no why Salvia is legal. Salvia makes weed look like nothing. I have smoked pot since the 7th grade. And not have i once hallucinated. First time a tried salvia i thought i was in a Freddy krueger nightmare.

Billydelion said...

This is what is newsworthy in today's society. News programs want ratings as much as other T.V. programs so they will air what WE, the people, want to hear. Unfortunately for a large portion of our society this is important information and they want to know. Mass Media is only going to give you what the mass majority of the population is wanting. So if you have a gripe with major media and what it presents look at your neighbor when you go to pointing fingers, or yourself. We direct the majority of the info that we get.

Tori said...

This is ABSOLUTELY newsworthy. Our goal is to engage as large an audience as possible and this is relevant to a stunning number of people all from potential diverse groups.
1. Business(wo)men involved with Disney either via employment or competition who find one of the company's biggest cash cow's actions to be extremely relevant.
2. 13 year old who <3 Miley Cyrus
3. The mothers of 13 year old girls and their book club/ PTA friends who are just "so shocked and outraged!"
4. Young adults who are endlessly entertained by the humanizing of sparkly shiny "role models" in publicly humiliating ways.

As embarrassing as it may be, Americans have such a wide variety of interests that it may truly be that what we all have in common is the War in Iraq, health care reform, and what Miley Cyrus has been smoking.

*Also, this video is hilarious, and journalists have a responsibility to entertain their audiences.

Brydels said...

Obvious filler is obvious. It was a slow news day I'm sure.