This just in

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Let me get my soapbox out for a few moments here. People read an article like this and think "Oh, it's cute" and they think of adorable old Abe Vigoda and they smile. But for CNN to run this kind of, not even fluff; this kind of AIR on their front page during a time of such extreme national turmoil is flat out irresponsible. It's not even marked "Entertainment." It's in there with the real news.

People, especially bottom-line focused editors, will argue that they do have articles on actual issues, like the Wall Street bail out, the presidential race, and international turmoil, and people can choose to read what they want to read. That's true, objectively. But people can also go to a thousand other sources for their bullshit light reading. People come to CNN.com for, presumably, hard news. It's like making the choice to go to a health-focused restaurant only to find the menu packed with french fries and chocolate mud cake. Sure you CAN still choose the spinach and walnut salad, but many people won't. Temptation is called temptation because it's hard to resist. Offering a choice between a difficult article about a scary topic like the financial crisis alongside an easy and pleasant read like "Abe Vigoda still alive!" will mean a lot of people skip the important article and read the light and easy article. It will mean a less informed populace right before a very important national election. By posting this article CNN is saying "We only care about money, we aren't focused on responsible journalism, we're no different Twinky salesmen." Maybe that would be a more appropriate tag line than "The Most Trusted Name in News"


By the by, the lead article (complete with picture) on the CNN website right now is NOT the financial crisis. It's a story about a seven year old kidnapping. While that's definitely not as utterly worthless as an "Abe Vigoda Remains Not Dead" story, it serves the same purpose. It's human interest vs. hard news. These girls were kidnapped a long time ago. They very well may be dead. While I hope that they are alive and will be recovered, the chances of a story about them leading to that recovery, especially without a current picture, are tiny. For every criminal caught thanks to America's Most Wanted there are a dozen more featured and still at large, or caught through unrelated measures. It's much more important that people know about something they can influence, namely the issues in the upcoming election, than they learn details of yet another tragic story. Tragic stories are inevitable and ubiquitous. This story is at best minor news, as horrible as it might be.

The mix of fluffy bullshit with hard news, and especially the elevation of the former over the latter, is absolutely toxic for society. There was a time when news organizations knew this and sacrificed some profitability for the public good, and for the social capital of being a distinguished source of important information. These days are long gone. I want them back.