AP Bans News on Paris Hilton for a Week and No One Cares

In April 2007, the Associated Press performed a daring experiment. Some thought they were abusing their power over the news; most every reputable news agency around the world got their stories from the AP wire. The AP writers, however, thought otherwise. The experiment: to blackout all news of Paris Hilton for one week.

The results were surprising. No one contacted AP headquarters asking for stories on Hilton. As a matter of fact, the world went on without Paris-shocking. Although AP editors are quick to say that nothing really big happened with Hilton during that one week period, one can still ask the question, is it the public that wants to hear about Hilton, or the news media itself?

Plug the words "boycott Paris" into a search engine, and seven digit results are generated. Even if references of that other Paris-the one in France-are removed, there are still millions of sites online that are gunning for the heiress. One group even touts a National Boycott of Paris Movement that began in March 2007. Then, Hilton was overheard uttering heinous racial and homophobic slurs to a camera. They vowed to end Hilton's free publicity ride in the media. The group did say that it would stop the movement if Hilton apologizes, so far, she hasn't. Even the religious world is getting in on the act. A pastor of a Memphis church preached an eight part sermon against Hilton. Blogs are exploding with anti-Paris comments. All are calling for the end of the debutante's media reign.

The anti-Paris attitude reached a peak the morning after she was released from prison. After days of rumors about who would get the million dollar interview with her, the big three networks all came out saying that they would have no part in the spectacle. Despite angling from the Hilton clan, the network execs stuck to their guns for once. One of the leading entertainment magazines followed suit in announcing that it would not publish a word about the heiress in their issue due out June 28, 2007. Us Weekly Magazine's editor Janice Min explained that the public was suffering from "enormous Hilton fatigue." She was giving the world a rest-and an issue full of celebrity babies.

The 24 hour news show MSNBC also showcased a stand taken by its reporter Mika Brzezinsky. She thrice refused to lead the news hour with the Paris Hilton prison release story. Despite the taunting of her co-anchors, Brzezinsky tried to burn the script, ripped it, and shredded it. Her producer kept urging the reporter to read the story, but she refused, even after the footage of Paris' release was shown anyway. Their defense was that the story was news and should have been broadcasted. Brzezinsky, like Min, thought the public had had enough.

On his website Arts on Real, Blake Yelavich describes the treatment of the Hilton new stories as "television news media decision-makers forcing the issue on us." News is supposed to be information broadcast to the public, on subjects of public interest. The AP experiment in April proved that no one is interested in Hilton's story. It is great that some of the major news outlets in print and on television are refusing to feed the madness. Now the rest of them need to follow suit. Surely there is more happening in the world than Paris Hilton. Isn't there a war going on somewhere?