Academic

According to the AP's Los Angeles assistant bureau chief, ?Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal.?  I was in the St. Louis airport two Fridays ago when the top story of the day on the airport version of CNN was not the result of the previous day's Obama victory in Iowa but Britney's hospitalization.  Media is like other industry sectors- they want to make money.  Yet, many feel particularly troubled when media covers celebrity news over issues that should matter to the public (government, economics and finance, world events).  One alternative is to have government pay for news (BBC anyone?).  However, because of the proliferation of news sources outside of television and print media, I know that if I want to find more specialized news to fit my interests, it is not that hard to do so.  The media sector is going through significant transformations.  I am not sure that most in the sector have a good strategy to address declining TV and print audiences.   Offering more sensational news may be one approach but this may turn off people who have looked for solid news coverage and analysis of non-star driven news.

I also wonder about Britney's various corporate lines of business and if her recent problems have affected sales of her perfume and clothing lines.