America: Popularity > Knowledge
I’m someone who strongly believes in self expression whether it be writing, dancing, singing, painting, creating etc. Some of my favorite ways of expressing myself have been dancing and writing. (Singing also but only when I'm alone or in a group lol you'll never catch me doing a solo.) I have piles of journals that I’ve written in over the years since I was a youngin' writing on Lisa Frank stationary with milky gel pens. These pages contain anything from stories to poems, from my dreams to my deepest secrets. After speaking to some of my friends, I realized that I want to start sharing some of these thoughts publicly. I mean, we share minuscule things on social media every day, why not share things that people can at least relate to?
Irony is defined as a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. I studied and have been trained in the art of journalism and media for the past seven years of my life. So, it amazes me when I turn on the television and see people who have gained popularity throw reality shows or social media outlets such as Twitter and Vine taking all the jobs that are meant for me. Honestly, I'm sick of it. America is the only place where it seems like your popularity on social media outweighs years of skills and training. KNOWLEDGE. Is it fair? Absolutely not. Does it make sense? Of course. These networks are all about the "sizzle in a pan" theory. Sizzle in a pan theory basically means they like to go after what's hot at the moment, who everyone is checking for and who everyone is talking about. It's no longer about longevity and who can make our network, our show, OUR BRAND something incredible for years to come. I'm a pretty logical person and I always think, "If I were in these people shoes, would I take the opportunity?" Without a doubt. It's not them that I'm mad at but more so these networks.
So, how do we fix this? Do we continue to create our own media outlets to express ourselves until the whole popularity fad tires out or do we tell those young kids with dreams of one day becoming a journalist that they're better off becoming something else? The Daily Beast wrote an article back in April 2013 about why reality stars struggle at being television hosts. TV writer Dave Holmes said, “It’s been proven time and again that hiring celebrities as hosts doesn’t make a bit of a difference ratingswise." He goes on to say, “The job of the host is to keep things moving and stay out of the way and not bring a lot of attention to him or herself. Be the traffic cop. The traffic cop is not driving any cares. He’s just telling people where to go.”
Wake up, TV Networks. Stop hiring untrained reality stars and questioning why your shows are failing and hire those kids that are frequently writing and creating in hopes of getting their big break they've worked so hard for.
