“But it’s NOT NEWS…”

I remember it so clearly.

I was nearly screaming it at the top of my lungs.

I fought with my news director from 4am to 5am begging her to change our lead story to no avail.

She was leading with “Tabloid Talk Heats Up Over Alleged Clinton Affair” and I was cringing as I had to read the words.

I couldn’t believe our 24-hour news station was leading with a sex scandal alleged in a tabloid. I was disgusted. Baffled. Humiliated.

It took about 24-48 hours before it was all anyone was talking about and the name Monica Lewinsky leapt from the likes of the Washington Post and the New York Times.

It didn’t matter if I thought it was news. It didn’t matter if a mother in Orlando had been murdered that morning or if police had once again swept homeless off the streets of downtown…all that mattered was it was “sexy” and “sexy sells.”

Sexy cost this country millions upon millions of dollars while we all debated what the definition of ‘is’ is and several families’ lives were changed forever.

So now, every time I see a sex scandal splashed across my tv screen, or main stream media anchors alluding to tabloids…I realize we’re on the path for yet another “sexy” headline to whip news directors into a frenzy and distract for our attention elsewhere.

The MOMocrat love for Elizabeth and John Edwards is no secret. Their activism and contributions to this country inspire us without question. Their marriage, unless subsidized by my tax dollars, isn’t my business.

Maybe you think it’s yours. Maybe you think it speaks to character. Maybe you would never vote for a Spitzer or Craig or Clinton.

Maybe you find all of that more important than today’s real headlines that include:

Police: Killer Targeted Church for Liberal Views

Female Bombers Target Pilgrims

Or how about

White House Projects Record Deficit for 2009

I’m posting this because I do agree with my friend Lee Stranahan. It doesn’t matter what I think is important; the GOP machine will chug and churn and try and turn tabloids into multi-million dollar taxpayer time sucks. They will drag a family’s business through the mud and back. They will try and run the news cycle, the spin, and even the private lives of citizens.

It will be a story whether we want it to be one or not, and whether there is currently a reporter in a newsroom screaming ‘But it’s NOT news!!!’ at the top of her lungs.

It won’t matter of nothing comes of it, if everything comes of it, or if everyone involved is happy and content.

It won’t even matter if none of this is true.

It will be news.

I sincerely hope this is all I ever write on the matter, but I doubt. I sincerely hope there are no ‘legs,’ as they say, to this story.

I sincerely doubt it’s just going to go away.

It might not be news, but it sure is “sexy.”

So I will continue to point out all of the real news going on, while everyone else speculates on tabloids. I will continue to remind people we are at war and people are dying.

I will continue to yell “But it’s NOT news!”

And hope someone listens.

Crossposted at MOMocrats.com