Idiot News Coverage

Don't get me wrong. I am sorry that Anna Nicole Smith died. I feel even worse for her daughter, who has lost her half-brother and mother within the last six months and there's going to be a nasty custody battle between two men who claim to be her father.

On the other hand, why are we getting wall-to-wall news coverage of Anna Nicole Smith? President Gerald Ford died recently, and he did not receive anywhere near the coverage Smith has received.

Why?

Is this the recipe for fame now in this country: Be an exotic dancer. Attract the attention of a guy 95 years old. Marry him. Know that at best he might make the age to be on Willard Scott's Smucker's commercials. Get embroiled in a 11-year legal battle for the estate of your husband who only lives one more year. Put on 60 pounds. Get a cable show that reduces each viewer's IQ by 10 points with every episode. Take pills and lose all the weight. Go on awards shows wasted and purr to the audience about your body. Get pregnant by someone. Take (or continue to take) methadone. Don't prevent your son from taking methadone. Go to the Bahamas and give birth. Watch son die from heart problem exacerbated by methadone use. Marry your lawyer, who may or may not be baby's father. Die mysteriously.

Might our news organizations have their priorities messed up?