And then there is our own societal obsession with pedophilia, a vile and unspeakable crime, to be sure. But stories like the JonBenet-murder case allow us to have it both ways; to be smug and superior — and virtuously horrified — while never having to come to grips with the true enormity of child abuse writ large. Somewhere around 1.3 million children are savagely beaten or abandoned by their parents every year; add to that those who suffer more subtle but equally real mistreatment and the number climbs even higher. Can this situation ever be eradicated? Probably not. Consider the more than 20 years it took to expose the Catholic Church’s organized institutional indifference to clergy members’ sexual abuse of children — certainly criminal in spirit — and you begin to understand not just the magnitude of the problem, but the odds against addressing it. Wallowing in the details of young Ramsey’s murder may make us feel better, but it will be DNA, not the ingredients and method of preparation of Karr’s in-flight shrimp dish that will or will not lead to a conviction. That too gets lost in the shuffle.
The cynical overkill of stories like the Ramsey murder squeezes out news that matters, whether it be the under-reported combat and political failures in now all-but-forgotten Afghanistan, or the scandalous widespread failure of Katrina relief and rebuilding efforts, or cultural and artistic stories of mid-rank that are not sexy or commercially potent enough to penetrate the mind-numbing sieve that envelops most broadcast news.
What’s to be done? Not much. In this age of Bush, prayer might offer some hope. But the chances of relief from that front are about the same as counting on political action to bust the monopolies that control the media. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, monopoly media vowed to eschew trivia and return to reporting essentials. Now let’s not kid ourselves: trivia and entertainment have always enjoyed a large place in the news. And that’s just fine. But anyone who hoped for even a touch of relief has been sadly disappointed. Today’s latest JonBenet update brings that sad truth into stark focus.
Related:
Bad moon rising on local papers, Flashbacks: September 29, 2006, Extraordinary rendition, More 
- Bad moon rising on local papers
Anyone familiar with the plight of newspapers knows how we have entered an era in which fewer and fewer Americans read hard copy anymore (if they can actually read), and that the Web is the place to go.
- Flashbacks: September 29, 2006
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Dan Peleschuk, Ian Sands, and Eva Wolchover.
- Extraordinary rendition
Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, directors of the flawed but inflammatory The Road to Guantánamo , go about telling the truth of injustice in a roundabout way. Fact or fiction? Mat Whitecross explains . By Peter Keough
- King of the freaks
I’d like to honor the best of the recently deceased political campaigns. Unfortunately, “best” turned out to be in short supply this year, but there was a surplus of worst. And I have just the prize for that.
- Quotes + numbers, January 27, 2006
4.9: Number of minimum-wage workers it takes to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Greater Boston.
- Afghanistan: Just say no!
The idea that the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical junction, a “now-or-never” moment that requires an additional 40,000 troops to win, is rubbish.
- Kite club
In spite of being lovingly realized and creatively cast, The Kite Runner is a simplistic adaptation of a powerful, multi-layered story.
- Republican dirty tricks
Late last month, readers of the conservative web site NewsMax discovered this juicy tidbit in a column by Ronald Kessler: “In the past week, Karl Rove has been promising Republican insiders an ‘October surprise’ to help win the November congressional elections.”
- Spring brakes
Funny how spring movies can mirror the options of spring break.
- Bojinka
The mainstream media has more or less treated the news that a group of British-based Islamist terrorists planned to blow up as many as ten airliners with colorless liquid explosives as the planes cruised over the Atlantic as a new development. It isn’t.
- Ways not to lose
In most legislative districts, frontrunners can admit to any indiscretion short of a fondness for Osama bin Laden and still win.
- Less
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