• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

For the past few weeks, something sinister has been infiltrating my favorite nightly news shows. And just because my friends and family members keep trying to convince me that the normal content of programs like “Access Hollywood” and “Extra” shouldn’t qualify as “news” (clearly these individuals have very screwed up priorities) doesn’t make this recent trend any less disturbing.

The entrance of Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with other pseudo-celebrities like Gary Coleman, Angelyne and Larry Flynt, into the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis has resulted in regular features on the candidates, especially Schwarzenegger, on all of the major entertainment news programs.

Not only was Pat O’Brien of “Access Hollywood” granted the first interview with the “Terminator” star after his big announcement on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” but “A.H.,” “E.T.,” and every other reputable purveyor of delicious Tinsel Town gossip has since churned out “serious” campaign stories on a near nightly basis.

What are fans of fluff to make, for example, of a report from the Warner Bros.-produced “Extra” earlier this month in which its team of ace reporters broke the news that Arnold had earned a key endorsement from TV’s “incredible hulk,” Lou Ferrigno?

How should loyal “Access Hollywood” viewers be expected to decipher entertainment reporter Tony Potts’ in-depth campaign analysis in which he described the status of the Schwarzenegger campaign being “as rock solid as his biceps?”

And how dare a journalist from “Entertainment Tonight,” as the Los Angeles Times reported, show up to Arnie’s recent press conference at the Westin hotel near LAX and ask the candidate to clarify the role that actor Rob Lowe will play in his campaign? It’s no wonder the room exploded in hisses and moans: No one expected “E.T.” to ask such an “important” question.

And I, for one, am here to say that this madness has to stop! Nobody watches these infotainment shows to be assaulted by “hard-hitting” investigative reporting or “actual” political commentary.

We watch because we want nightly updates on the status of Ben and J. Lo’s relationship. We watch because there’s always a chance that Christina Aguilera has put on another five pounds. We watch because we need to know when Michael Jackson makes any kind of freakish public appearance, and we need to know it now.

Of course there will be those of you out there who will argue that the real tragedy here is not that people like me are forced to sit through a minimal amount of election coverage.

No, you’ll say, what’s wrong with this picture is that the entertainment reporters who have suddenly been thrust onto a political beat have long-standing relationships with candidates like Schwarzenegger, resulting in an enormous amount of free press for the Republican front-runner.

You’ll point out that being able to avoid facing mainstream political reporters on a regular basis could mean that the Austrian superstar might win the election without ever having to fully flesh out his stance on key issues.

And you’ll jump up and down demanding that programs like “Access Hollywood” behave like responsible journalists and ask at least a few questions of candidates that might actually illicit relevant answers.

But that’s all poppycock. Obviously, somebody should be asking Arnold the tough questions, and it should be informed political reporters who do it.

But who will stand up for the apathetic majority who is tired of seeing its precious entertainment news programs sullied by even a shred of “real” or “informative” news stories? I will. I implore E! Entertainment Television and all the infotainment shows to dismantle their newly established political desks and use those freed up resources to give us more of what we really want to see on television, like how Enrique Iglesias finally had his giant mole removed. Leave the political reporting to programs with viewers who want to be informed. The rest of us want our E! TV.

Comments

Post a comment