I don’t care.

But millions did.

Why?

Not because of the facts, but because of the narrative constructed by a news media looking for ratings, which if it took its job seriously would tell equally fascinating stories about issues that truly affect the public, like health care, climate change, Medicare…

Credit the Republicans. They know how to tell a story. They got people to turn against the President’s health care plan by labeling it "Obamacare", every story needs a good title, and telling tales of "death panels".

In other words, if you want to make it today, you’ve got to have a story.

I learned this from Don Hewitt. In one of the "60 Minutes" anniversary specials. That’s why the show is so successful. Networks did long form news previous to the establishment of this show but it wasn’t presented this way.

Casey Anthony was an irresponsible mother who ditched her child in order to live the good life. At least that’s what the media told us. As for how the baby disappeared, that was a bit more complicated. As for convicting the mother…does anybody know anything about the law, how a trial actually works? You can believe in your heart that someone is guilty, but can you prove it? Why didn’t Nancy Grace focus on that?

Because it doesn’t make a good story. Which is the same reason the media does not focus on the slipping sales of Lady Gaga’s new album, it screws up the narrative. If they can’t delineate the activities of the gnomish singer they’ll be forced to find another singer to sell papers, to get surfers to click. And so far, the music industry hasn’t built one. Greyson Chance? Lexi St. George? Bob Dylan was censored in China, we’ll run with that… But then Bob screws up the story by coming out of his shell and posting online that it isn’t true.

And who did the media look to for Casey Anthony analysis? Kim Kardashian! That’s like asking a high school cheerleader to comment on brain surgery. Huh? Did Kim K. go to law school? Did someone in her family endure the same disappearance and death? Of course not, but she’s famous and people will pay attention, let’s run with it!

Used to be the public turned to movies for roller coaster twist and turn narratives. But now all we’ve got is 3-D spectacles focused on blowing stuff up, story is secondary, so far from real life that we’ve stopped going. Yes, we live in a ratings world. Box office is down. Did anyone stop and consider that the audience is larger than teenaged boys?

And it’s not like Casey Anthony is a threat to society. It’s not like she’s going to kill again. It’s not like she’s a sex offender. The risk to society is..?

So the winner is HLN. Which isn’t even Headline News anymore the same way MTV is no longer Music Television. These are rogue outlets, focused on anything that can garner an audience and sell advertising. MTV builds "The Jersey Shore", which is about as real as Milli Vanilli. But people buy it. Because it focuses on nobodies, dying to make it, just like the viewers. And MTV is smart enough to know that the audience has contempt for today’s "stars". Just like people hate Casey Anthony, they hate most of what is purveyed by the major labels. More people are laughing at Ke$ha than like her. Come on, the dollar sign in her name? What’s different from that girl calling herself JWoww?

Instead of focusing on this trial, turning it into a circus, Nancy Grace could have broadcast a history of the legal system, jazzed it up so people would tune in. Instead, she’d rather be famous herself. That’s how far we’ve come, the talking heads have eclipsed what they’re talking about.

HLN saw these facts and turned it into a story bought by the public no different from Fabian, New Kids On The Block and Justin Bieber. They’re all two-dimensional, unworthy of public consumption, trumped up so third parties can get rich.

The story here isn’t how a twenty five year old mother lost her baby, went on trial and was ultimately acquitted, but how a rapacious news media abdicated its responsibility in order to line its pockets.

It started with Fox News. Hell, did you read that story in "Rolling Stone"? The longer you watch the outlet, the more ignorant you become, they’ve done research! Fox News is one big diversion, cocking up people’s beliefs in order to further the objectives of corporations. But they do it so well! Because they know it’s all about story. They hammer the narrative over and over again. People think that breaking an artist is just a matter of exposure. But credit Clive, his charges always had a backstory, like Whitney Houston. But when she became a drug addict she screwed up the narrative and we were no longer interested.

Yes, the public can be manipulated.

And the closer to real life you can get, the more they’re interested.

Songwriters used to know this. Write from the heart, tell the truth.

Rap was killed by tales of rims and ho’s. Who lived like that? Certainly not the audience.

And the more Gaga talks about her "Little Monsters", the more fans feel like someone understands their alienation. Hell, that’s the human condition, alienation.

So the story here, once again, in the American way, is business. Business sold a product to an unsuspecting, ignorant public.

Who’s going to sell the public the truth? Who’s going to gussy up real life and get people to pay attention?

Then again, the Casey Anthony trial was more real than almost all of the crap on TV and movie screens. That’s why we tuned in.