Summer Media Madness! Speidi and the Gosselins, Perez vs. will.i.am

amp160amp160The best moment of television I have seen in weeks happened last Monday when veteran broadcaster and Today show weatherman Al Roker snarled at Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag amp8220You guys are the poster children for everything thatamp8217s wrong with celebrity in this countryamp8221amp160Frankly I would choose Jon and Kate Gosselin as the worst of the current amp8220celebrityamp8221 offenders since they have thrust their children into the media spotlight seemingly without regard for how that exposure might impact thm in the future But Iamp8217m good with anyone or anything that slams Speidiamp160Rokeramp8217s dustup with Speidi was relatively tame It didnamp8217t have the throbbing emotional pulse of the fierce viralvideo dramz playing out this week on the Internet between namecalling gossip Perez Hilton and william of The Black Eyed Peas But I wonamp8217t soon forget it even if Iamp8217m unclear exactly what he was getting at with that withering statementamp160Was Roker bemoaning the fact that any butthead can become famous these days simply by appearing in a cheap reality series on E or one of the MTV Networks amp8211 or on his very own NBC which hopped aboard The Hillsamp8217 hotrain by casting Speidi on this summeramp8217s mother of all broadcasteroders Iamp8217m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Or was he getting at a larger media disgrace The way television news and entertainment programs and established entertainment magazines that once focused on top talent and significant newsmakers now devote so much time and so many resources to chronicling the every belch and burble of the bimbos himbos dullards and drips on parade in dozens of unscripted seriesamp160Either way Albert you rockamp160How crampinducing are Heidi and Spencer Well sheamp8217s a simple ditz who would disappear completely if major media outlets stopped fawning over her But Spencer is something else entirely Heamp8217s so uniquely awful that chronicling his offenses has become a sport in itself amp160Hereamp8217s a typical Spencer moment A few weeks ago Access Hollywood ran footage in which Heidi and Spencer were asked by an emptyheaded paparazzi if they had a plan to amp8220eatamp8221 any of their fellow Dlisters as they headed off to the Costa Rican jungle for Iamp8217m a Celebrityamp160amp8220Sanjayaamp8221 Spencer replied amp8220I like Indian foodamp8221amp160Full disclosure I missed this footage when it was first telecast but caught it last Friday on Eamp8217s The Soup amp8211 for years an essential weekly recap of reality televisionamp8217s lowest moments and still TVamp8217s funniest showamp160When I walk by a newsstand and see one cover after another featuring Brad Angelina Jennifer Oprah and the like I get it They are huge stars who worked long and hard to get where they are and like it or not they provide millions of people with thousands of hours of entertainment and in most cases use their fame and fortune to help people in need I pass right by those magazines my cash remaining safely in my wallet but I understand why they are there and why people might be prompted to at least give them a checkout aisle powerread But when I see cover after cover featuring Spencer and Heidi I wonder who might actually buy the tabloids underneath Certainly not the young end of their fan base which has been carefully taught since childhood to believe that all timely reading material should be consumed online for free And how is it that the Gosselins were comparatively absent from newsstands during the first four seasons of their TLC series Jon ampamp Kate Plus 8 but have become inescapable now that their marriage has hit the skids I have yet to hear anyone who does not work in the media express even a hint of interest in them but it appears that they suddenly sell magazines even during a recession when pocket money is at a premiumamp160No wonder everyone everywhere went wild for demure Susan Boyle the summer seasonamp8217s other big media sensation at least so far The Britainamp8217s Got Talent runnerup became an overnight celebrity because of her beautiful voice not because she would do anything to get famous She truly deserved special recognition but it was too much too soon and Boyle reportedly suffered extreme emotional distress after a week or two as a major media magnet She rather abruptly learned that fame ainamp8217t so great after all Conversely Speidi feeds on itamp160I like to think that Boyle will go the distance and entertain people for years to come because I believe she has something wonderful to offer Meanwhile I wonder how long it will be before Spencer Heidi Jon and Kate turn up in one of those shows about soggy washed up celebrities on VH1

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Summer Media Madness! Speidi and the Gosselins, Perez vs. will.i.am

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Ed Martin

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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Summer Media Madness! Speidi and the Gosselins, Perez vs. will.i.am

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