By Cherise Forno
The silence in my Organizational Communication Theory class was
broken with, “She did it! Britney Spears is getting a divorce!”
It started with one student receiving a text message about the
event, then the news slowly spread throughout my COM 314 class.
Suddenly the test everyone was taking was no longer important;
Britney and K-Fed were no more.
Britney Spears filed for divorce from her husband, Kevin
Federline, on Nov. 7. Since then it seems like the entire country
is celebrating the broken relationship. I’ve never seen people so
excited about a divorce before, and I find it a bit unsettling.
I realize divorce is sometimes necessary to preserve the
happiness and well being of individuals; however, even with
celebrities the difficult decision to split should be approached
more delicately, especially by strangers who are only desperate for
a piece of gritty gossip.
People need to realize the seriousness of the situation.
Celebrities are people too, so their lives should not simply be a
resource for gossip and rumors.
It’s amazing to me how lightly marriage and divorce are taken by
people. Divorce is not a happy time for anyone involved, yet people
are practically having keggers to celebrate this one.
While someone is going through such a difficult time in his or
her life, other people need to have much more sensitivity.
The fact that people are so excited about this divorce makes me
wonder what problems underlie this disproportionate reaction.
What has happened to the priorities of our country? Aren’t there
more important events happening in our country and across the world
that deserve our attention?
The news of a celebrity’s divorce may be covered in gossip
magazines and tabloids, but news of Britney Spears’ divorce has
somehow made its way into mainstream hard news. Even CNN had it
portrayed in a breaking news block at the bottom of the screen
during a newscast.
It is the media’s responsibility to provide people with news
that both informs and entertains. A divorce is not necessary
information, nor should it be considered a form of
entertainment.
Britney’s divorce does not deserve the ongoing media frenzy it
is receiving. The event has been reported; now attention needs to
be given to other news such as the aftermath of the midterm
elections.
Hearing about Britney and the aptly named “Fed-Ex” for two weeks
is enough for me. I hope the pandemonium will end soon. However, I
fear the coverage of the divorce will only worsen and remain with
us for months and even years to come.
Unfortunately by writing this article, I too have fallen prey to
the epidemic. Since I’m already contributing to the problem, I may
as well add; welcome back Britney.
I can only imagine the chaos that will ensue if Federline
releases the sex tape of Britney and him. I can’t hardly wait.
Cherise Forno can be reached by e-mail at
opinions@thepolypost.com or by phone at (909) 869-3531.
Show Comments (0)