News or simply unscripted theatrics?

Hi neighbors. Who would have thought it would be such a huge media event deciding where a body should be buried? All week the news has been filled with where to bury Anna Nicole Smith's body.

I have never met Anna Nicole Smith, her mother, nor her sister, nor any of her family, friends or boyfriends. I won't visit her grave as a tourist.

Thinly disguised as "breaking news" the tedious proceedings dug up enough celebrity gossip through witness testimony to keep it on the front burner for over six days.

It is difficult to figure out how testimony to determine a burial place could be so complicated, long-winded and far reaching.

The pretense for this public voyeurism into the deceased woman's life, according to the judge, was to determine if she really, really wanted to be buried in the burial plot she bought for that purpose.

We were lead to wonder if there was some deception or if someone had simply lead her to believe she wanted to be buried in the plot she bought.

Maybe she was coerced into buying a burial plot? Maybe she wasn't in her right mind when she bought it? Oh, please. Maybe all of this concern should be concentrated on actually getting the woman buried instead of hassling over where to bury her.

What must be addressed, in my opinion, is why are we so easily prompted into believing this type of "news" is more important than other world events? What does it say about the world-wide television viewing public when coverage of a real-time, six day hearing to determine where a single woman should be buried has to be "broken into" with apparently lesser news that terrorists have stooped to chemical warfare in Iraq? When does what a single judge may have to say about a decomposing body over-ride public interest in a nuclear stand-off between the United Nations and Iran? Why would we find a woman‚s alleged drug use more newsworthy than astronauts risking their lives in orbit? Is this really what we want our day centered around? At least this type of electronic "eavesdropping" is easier to both get involved in and distance ourselves from.

Much like the O.J. Simpson trial; we can watch, debate, discuss and run to catch the latest updates, without too much actual worrying about the outcome.

Let's face it, whatever happens to Anna Nicole's body won't affect any of us much. Not like Iran selling atomic bombs to terrorists might.

Anna Nicole's news, or news about any other celebrity, is safe. Sure they might do something over the top, or even something illegal. But we're used to watching celebrities go through trying times, either for real or in an acting role.

Maybe before we get all wrapped up in what's happening to Anna Nicole's family, we should worry a bit about what the news media's obsession about it might be doing to our own families.

Who determines what's news worthy? Let's hope it's actually the viewing public and not someone else telling us what is priority news and what is simply entertainment.

The bridge between news simply being defined as actions in the "real" world has been shaky ever since reality TV became the big thing.

Showing us fiction and telling us it's truth might simply be a new form of entertainment. But it is a very dangerous line to cross.

I'll admit I get caught up in trial coverage, especially coverage of celebrity trials. But a courtroom with international television coverage might lean dangerously closer to soap opera style entertainment than a true representation of our legal system.

The six days spent meandering around the problem of where to bury a deceased woman should bring up a few points.

One; judges wanting their own television series may not be the best selection for legal decisions no matter how entertaining they are.

Two; just because you buy a plot to bury yourself in, don't assume anyone will think you actually want to be buried in it.

Three; the length of any celebrity trial increases with the number of cameras covering the proceedings.

And lastly, four; celebrity trial coverage is an easy out for the media. Is it news? Yes. Is it more newsworthy than Prince Harry going off to war? I guess that depends on how big a celebrity Prince Harry is, and what country you're in when you're watching the news.

Until the next time friends remember, when you get overwhelmed with news of war, there's always news of the latest celebrity scandal.

Just be mindful of which type of news is of the most importance to you and your family.