Paris Mania: Who's To Blame?

From an intra-office debate this morning arises the question: Who's fault is it that we (meaning America, collectively) are Paris Hilton crazy? Why are we so absorbed with this trivial story?

One school of thought says, it's the media's fault. The press gives us 24-7 Paris coverage, so Paris is all we talk about.

I take the opposite point of view: The press gives us what we want, for better or for (much) worse. Here at the Daily News, we see which front-page designs sell more copies, which online stories get the most hits. And it ain't the ones about Darfur. You can say the media should strive for more than the lowest common denominator, but then again, we're also striving for a steady paycheck.

To which the blame-the-media types respond: We only want Paris because that's what we've been trained to want. Our appetites are shaped by our culture, which, in turn, is shaped by the media.

I can accept that -- to a degree. No doubt, the more pop-culture garbage we ingest, the more of it we crave (kind of like fast food). But we still always have the option of not indulging, to "just say no," as it were. I, for one, don't troll the net looking for Paris coverage. I've never purchased People magazine. I have no interest in watching her interview on Larry King.

Of course, I am part of a small minority of dorks. But it's a free country, and I retain my free will, MTV or not. And as long as huge portions of the society continue to crave Paris, huge portions of Paris will continue to come our way.