Sleeping with the Enemy

The media industry is fast becoming one of the largest industries in the world. Many people use the media in order to get information on an array of topics. I recently saw a documentary piece that criticized Rupert Murdoch and his approach in managing Fox News. Mr. Murdoch is never subtle about his pro-Republican extreme right wing views, but one would think that a news organization should try to appear impartial. Fox News is always adamant that they have fair and balanced approaches to the way they collect and distribute information. What I found most interesting was the fact that people believed such false information that Fox News was reporting, for instance, the fact that Iraq and 9/11 were somehow connected. What disturbed many of the commentators during the documentary was that Fox was influencing every other news station when it comes to the way they report. I, for one, understand why news Medias would be more forgiving in their reporting to whatever political group was in power at the time. This reminds me of the fact that many fashion critics are becoming a lot more lenient when it comes to their critique of celebrity fashion lines. It seems that every second another celebrity is producing a fashion line as a means of revenue rather than craft. In the beginning, many of the high-ranking fashion critics from magazines, such as Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar, would have ripped people, such as Victoria Beckham, a new one. However, it seems that any A-lister who produces a fashion line is almost guaranteed good critiques. For a long time it baffled me how these people received such good reviews, but then I realized that these magazines and newspapers needed the celebrities in order to sell issues of their publication. Established designers themselves, for the most part, remain quiet on the issue because they fear that if they criticize these celebrity “designers” it would mean fewer endorsements. It seems that now the only group that are willing to give an adequate critique are those that have blogs, and therefore, have no financial obligations to fulfill positive relationships with celebrities. Not to say that people, such as Beyonce and Gwen Stefani, are not talented, but their skills are better suited in their own field whether it be music or movies. When it comes to being a designer you need more of a qualification than just owning a credit card.