Rant of the Week

The "Package"

What ABC could and did offer, instead, was an hour in prime time; teases of the interview on "Wold News", the newly first -place morning show "Good Morning America", "nightline," and ABC's local TV and  radio afffiliates... Within the industry this is called the "package".  NY Times, February 12, 2013

The real package is, of course, Amanda Knox, who will enthrall millions of Americans on April 30 on ABC "News". This is not news. It's not journalism. It is the nauseous give and take of exploitation and titillation and scandal marketing. It is the news division committing incest with the entertainment division.  The business of this entire process is not information or enlightenment or insight but how to disguise voyeurism as respectable information intercourse. We are all going to do the dance because we want to experience the thrill of dirty sex with a sexually vibrant young woman whose room-mate was murdered while pretending to be appalled or sympathetic or curious or informed.

Amanda has a book to sell. There is no personal experience so tragic or distasteful that the media are not willing to profit from it, nor women like Amanda Knox. But it will be packaged carefully. There will be some higher purpose given for the book, so readers won't feel like they are expressing a prurient curiosity when picking it up at the bookstore. Let's see-- it's a cautionary tale for young American women because she just doesn't want anyone else to go through the ordeal she went through. Or a diatribe against the pernicious Italian justice system. Or let's go with the Oprahfied version: "I just felt that it was time to tell MY story.  There will be something about honoring the memory of her room-mate.  There will be talk about who will play her in the movie. HBO or Hollywood? Can she sing? If not, there's always dinner theatre.

I do have a feeling she will eventually marry her body guard and go off somewhere and hide. She's not made for this. The money is too tempting, but she's not made for this and she may not handle it well.

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