I know its sad that he is missing along with his wife and sister in law, but isn’t the media blowing this out of proportion? All the major news stations (ABC, NBC, CBS) have hour long programs dedicated to him. I just don’t get it- would they do the same if Presidents Johnson’s kids came up missing? or even Presidents Reagan and Bush? Its true that the Kennedy’s have had big problems keeping their family away from tragedy, but I think this coverage is adding to the toll of heartache. Its like Princess Di has died all over again or the Columbine Massacre has just been repeated; we won’t be able to turn on the tv, pick up a paper, or surf the net without seeing some sort of news on what has happened. There is some hope that he is still alive, so why treat it as he’s already been pronounced dead? Does the media know when to say when? Do they know that they are overcovering a sensitive topic?
Not at all. The Johnson, Reagan and Bush families don’t quite have the regal sheen that the Kennedy’s do. It’s a tired cliche but it’s true: the Kennedy’s are the closest thing to royalty that Americans have. When you couple that with the unique soap-operaish quality of their lives (plane crashes, assassinations, Senator Ted’s boozy affairs), I believe that the news coverage was justified…after all I was glued to the set most of the day.
HOWEVER…if I have to hear that horrendous windbag/Kennedy shill Doris Kearns Goodwin blather on one more time about Caroline’s wedding day (thereby reminding us that SHE was invited to the wedding) I’ll bust.
Tim
“My hovercraft is full of eels.”
Well, I’d say it is warrented, even much more so than Princess Di. The media is pretty sensational sometimes, but i’ve noticed a amazing lack of it here. No screams of political cover ups, new laws, or any other bastardation of the real issues.
Think of this. JFK Jr. is the only child ever born to a President in office, this really adds a level of regality. Kennedy was the first President to use TV, this translates to the fact that he is the first person to hve his entire life in the spotlight, and by extention his kids. John-John was born only a few months into his first term. Now with the rise of TV news media Jr’s life has unfolded in front of the worlds eyes (reminicent of the Truman Show). We saw him shortly after birth, and in likely the most gripping photo of all time the tape of John Jr. saluting in imitation of the soldiers at his fathers funeral. Add to the fact that he is as photo genic as anyone has ever ben, and the political traditon of his entire family, he is by all extention royaly. Even better in that they earned their position, and weren’t necessarily given it as a birth right.
History will never know how big of a loss this may be. He would have won election to any ofice he choose, and could potentially have been a very influential man in the 21 century.
Comparison to other presidents doesn’t fit. The Kennedy’s have been influential for a entire century through nearly 5 generations. No other president has a national legacy that extends before their election. The Kennedy’s are totally unique.
Royalty? We threw out the last royalty with King George III. We didn’t want it then, and we don’t want it now.
Sorry, but the very concept makes me puke.
Must be a slow news day.
It was only his son who, doesn’t really have much importance to us. At least that was the point one reporter was trying to make.
But then neither did OJ and he got about as much coverage.
Make room at the toilet for me too, Nickrz. I think the concept of the Kennedy’s being royalty largely owes its origins to the press’s love affair with the Kennedy’s. If you think about it, why wouldn’t the press love the Kennedy’s? They are a guaranteed sensational story every couple of years, and the more that the press pounds it into our heads that the Kennedy’s are “America’s Royalty”, the better it is for ratings when one of these stories comes along. I think that the odds are fairly slim that the U.S. people would have chosen such a scandal-ridden family to hold up to the rest of the world to say, “Look! Here’s who we look up to.”
I know JFK did not get a full shake at being President, but how well would he be remembered if he were not killed? Would he be remembered in such a pretty, forgiving, light? Probably not. Other than JFK, what have the Kennedy’s done that merits the title “America’s Royalty”?
Don’t misunderstand me. I like(d?) JFK Jr. He is (was) the only Kennedy that I like(d) (so, yes, I may be a little biased in my above rant). I hope that he and the other passengers are somehow alive, but I am not holding my breath.
Royalty? We threw out the last royalty with King George III. We didn’t want it then, and we don’t want it now.
Sorry, but the very concept makes me puke.
Barf then won’t you please?
Or course I know you meant this in a figurative way, and also your response is to Torgo, though it appears your response is to Omnicsient, since it follows down the thread, and ubb quoting has been outlawed.
See the flaw in that nickerz?
C&P, no never mind, identify the poster,ok?
I agree with Omniscent’s evaluation.
Perhaps you should re-read it without adding any personal emotional content.
The word royality has some pretty loaded connotations, but ignoring those, that’s a fair assesment of what it was like to grow up in the Kennedy years.
(I don’t believe anyone is royality, but I always treat people as if they were.)
(well, maybe in my heart, if not always verbally)
A benevolent (stress on the word “benenolent”) monarchy is the secret desire of the masses, I think. Think of it. A wise and generous king/queen to make all the important decisions for us. No voting or politicians. No elected idiots messing everything up.
Peace,
mangeorge
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! …Unknown
I think it’s kind of sick that this has been on TV literally non-stop since last night. Sure the guy was famous and well-liked and the son of a beloved and dead president (blah, blah, blah), and I sincerly hope he and his wife and sister-in-law are found alive. But what about the hundreds of kids that dissapear everyday without so much as a whisper on the news? What about their poor, grieving families? Why should we devote an entire day’s worth of news to three people, regardless of their status? It’s sick. I’m sorry, I went through this with Laura Kate Smithers (the little girl who dissapeared near here about two years ago). Two weeks of talking about her and searching for her, and totally ignoring another little girl who was only briefly mentioned shortly before Laura Kate vanished. What about that little girl? What must her family have been going through? Why do we sensationalize some tradgedies just because they involve someone rich or famous or who lived in a “nice neighborhood where things like that just don’t happen”? I know, I’m babbling. But it really sickens me to the core, worrying about the ones nobody mentions.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
– Henry David Thoreau
Quote from Cessandra
Your source?
Bugzap
Too much go juice?
Not much hope. With all the search planes and cameras out there, someone would have spotted them by now.
Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together.
—Red Green
Ok, can somebody straighten something out for me?
The first reports said that there was a training pilot along, because JFK Jr. had hurt his foot. Later reports completely fail to mention this person, and only talk of him, his wife, and her sister as being lost. Where’d that guy go? Did somebody determine that he wasn’t there after all?
The only other question I have doesn’t deal with media attention, but Coast Guard, Air Force, etc. I would like to think that any private plane that disappeared would get the same amount of rescue attention, but I find myself wondering…
I don’t think they send out large Coast Guard helicopters equipped with infrared detection devices at night for just any Bozo that ends up in the drink. Those puppies have to cost 2-3,000 bucks an hour to operate, and they usually just suspend operations till daylight.
Being the son of the late beloved JFK, imho, warrants special treatment. My royalty remark was directed against the concept, not the man himself.
I think you’re wrong, Nickrz. I think “any bozo” gets choppers and Coasties, too.
There’s a companion thread to this going on in the Pit, for anybody who’s interested.
-Melin
Phenomenal woman
Bitch Corporate Lawyer
That's meThe event is sad, in fact very sad. But it should have taken up 15 minutes at most on national news. After all, anybody else’s plane missing would probably have merited a couple of minutes at the end of the local news. Now the entire armada has been mobilized, not to mention the Pentagon! Truly unbelievable!!
Words fail me to adequately reflect what I think of the treatment usually reserved by the media in instances such as this; this is just the latest in a series of examples of the general mindlessness/vacuity which has characterized this sound-bite driven form of information for years and years. It basically boils down to two words: ratings and sales. Nothing else seems to matter.
And in this specific instance, Prince Camelot would certainly appear to meet all the basic requirements.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and every once in a while a couple of fishermen in their little boat will go out through the Golden Gate and get into serious trouble.
I gotta tell ya, the Coast Guard will break out the cutters and helicopters, and pretty much whatever else is neccessary to rescue them.
I watched two surf boats and one helo pick a guy off a rocky beach where he’d gotten himself stuck when the tide came in.
I think it’s money well spent. Part of being a society is trying to protect our idiots from themselves. Including celebs.
Peace,
mangeorge
I agree, it must hve been a slow news day. The man was only “famous” because he was the son of a President - what did he do for us? Develop a cancer cure? No. Solve the Middle East tensions? No. All he did was create a new magazine. Woohoo! More press! We need more reporters like we need more lawyers! How much time do you need to devote to a USCG helicopter flying up and down the coast?
I’m actually surprised that it made front page news here in NC. They are usually running a front page piece on either UNC-Chapel Hill, hog farming, Tiger Woods or all three.
I am not without feelings for anyone who loses family buy from ~10:00am on it was just about non-stop with specials, interviews and extras. I really wouldn’t know because I turned to PBS. I heard Howard Stern’s Phone Brigade got through on-air to both Dan at CBS & Peter at ABC. WOOHOO!
“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’”
E A Poe
You think that’s bad? The first I heard about it was my cousin phoning from Ireland. ‘It’s all over the television’ he said.
So do we have any answers yet as to whether they’ve been found? I didn’t watch any TV last night, I just found out about it in today’s paper.
Perhaps there is too much news coverage… like I said, I wouldn’t know, having been ignorant of the entire thing till this afternoon, however, when there is a search going on for missing persons, you always see it on television or find a blurb about it in the paper, regardless of whether the person is famous or not. It’s ridiculous to complain about celebraties getting the lion’s share of media coverage… after all, they are constantly in the public eye. “We the people” are the force behind giving people celebrity status to begin with. So many of us don’t really care about the Kennedy’s one way or another. Honestly, though, if a celebrity that you WERE interested in was missing, you’d be just a little interested in knowing what was going on.