Pajiba

proof is in the pudding biiiiatch.

Kudos, Chez. Someone had to say it.

Thanks. Apology accepted. Go forth and sin no more. Uh, well, maybe not.

Well said. Well done. In what brain-dead world is this death shocking? Everybody's just absolving themselves of the guilt they feel for pointing and laughing as she killed herself before our eyes.

It amuses me to no end that one minute, everyone's making fun at this piece of trailer trash, and the next moment, everyone loves her, bestows the name of "good mother" on her, and elevates her to the status of a saint. Puh-leaze.

Not being a member of the American Public, I do not have to excuse Mister Chez.

But even then, I can't hold him nor his colleagues solely responsible for the balance shift towards trivialities in the media.

There is, after all, still a market that is to be served.

All ill-considered praise for the dead wench aside, I can't believe that there's any attention on it AT ALL. Her death was a little surprising in that it came this early, but she was barely a D-list celebrity at that point (insert a bad D-list/D-cup joke here, I'm too tired). No one cared anymore! I just don't understand WHY there's such hoopla over it.

I only disagree with you on the gold-digger part, I think she was fucked up enough to love that old sack of bones.

why am i so hooked on this stuff though? i know it doesn't matter, i know it is ridiculous, but it fascinates me to no end! yes, i need a life, but maybe just a little bit more of the drivel until i find a suitable one?

Well I feel a bit better that at least some members of the news media are as perplexed by this blitz of coverage over a ditzy gold digger's death as I am.

The Stew: I agree. She didn't seem to be that self-aware, let alone cunning and devious enough to be a gold digger. If she was, she would have gotten the will fixed before the old man croaked. She seemed to have some severe Daddy issues (along with list of other problems longer than my street), and went for probably the only guy that didn't treat her like garbage.

I feel sorry for her, not because she was a supposed saint, but because she barely had a chance to come up for air before she fell into another pool of muck.

I am also in the news business. And as much truth as this post holds, I'd like to point out the last perp in Pajiba's Shit List: The collective YOU.

For better or worse, the news needs to be paid for. This is done through advertising. It is therefore controlled by the public, and what they want to see, regardless of whether its newsworthy or not.

I work for a website for a very credible, probably the most credible, news gathering organization, and we bow daily to the "click count." It's been ANS #1 everyday since day one.

This is the same American public retardacy that plagues the film business, as the #1 films almost always prove.

In other words, I'm not apologizine to anyone until the American public apologizes to me.

You know what this is like? This is like when, some girl runs up to you in highschool, and she's all, like, hysterical, and she tells you some story and you get worked up. Then you go home and tell it to everyone you know like it's important and than one day your forty five and you realize nothing she said was true. She was just some chick who thought she was important and you went along with it because it made you feel important.

God rest her soul.

Media: rest her story.

In other words, I'm not apologizine to anyone until the American public apologizes to me.

Posted by: alexis

Apologize? To you? Because the news business is run by illiterate bean-conting drones that see nothing but ratings and "click counts" and you take their money every day to provide the same?

I Think Not. You clearly have no shame in what you're doing and you will continue doing it. So, no, no apology from us.

The news business is indeed run by bean-counting drones, but they're not the ones toiling away in the newsroom. They count the money, distribute the money, and direct the news. The rest of us keep our nose to the grindstone and give you your damn Anna Nicole Smith. If I didn't, I'd be fired.

What a great, albeit sobering post.

Was I shocked at the news of Anna Nicole's death? Yes. Quite unexpected. I mean, unexpected like you know that the slutty girl in your high school will be the first to lose her virginity, but, wow, you didn't think it was going to happen last night.

Did I read the stories that were all over the web about it? I did. Did I change the channel when more sordid details were released on the news? I did not.

As much as I would like to align myself with reasonable people and point the finger at the collective "YOU," if I'm honest, I secretly support their cause by listening when I think no one can see me.

And for that, Alexis, I AM sorry.

And, Chez, of course I accept your apology because I am part of the problem myself. It takes guts to admit that you've contributed to something you hate about the country you love. Thank you for encouraging and emboldening me to admit the same.

I am reminded of my deep love for Chez...I have missed you.

Lesson learned...if and only if blog sites, news reporters, magazines and tabloids stop deifying low-life bottom-feeders and stop using their images and pathetic, slutty escapades to entice readers and sell advertising space. (see today's Pajiba pic of Ms.BS...shame on you!)

Why does society allow these people to get away with such horrible behavior? Why to we turn our eyes and hearts their way, and WORSE, throw our hard earned money at them? How stupid are we? It's time to get back to what is real and just and good, and let these people dry up and blow away.

Apology accepted. Providing that you change your ways. No mention of video tape of nonentities copulating, fornicating or rutting with other nonentities and that includes hetero, homo or zoophilic sex and applies even if one of the principals posseses kielbasa proportioned genitalia. No more snapshots of rubbery pudenda being slid out of the back of limos by some poptard or celebuturd.

No mention of anything that Regis or Oprah says, does or features on their shows. You may mention Oprah's real estate acquisitions with the requisite documentation of purchase price and aerial/satellite photos.

No mention of babies or baby pictures of infants of indeterminate origin whether their alleged birth certificates are signed by nurses days after the alleged birth or are from some third world hell hole where you wouldn't get a hang nail treated let alone deal with the unbelievability that some multimillionaires would go there for the alleged birth of their alleged baby.

No promotions of third rate soap operas whether it's for some divaish behavior of "desperately" superannuated actresses or unPC pronunciamentos of an actress saying that half the people she meets in Hollyweird are gay or some actor calling another actor by a nonPC synonym for gay or that actor then going to homophobe rehab. Everyone knows that soap operas employ a higher percentage of homosexuals than your hometown teamsters' local. Nobody cares.

I almost lost it when I saw a graphic of her with the words "America's Rose" underneath. It is an insult to the people of America, and an insult to Princess Di (England's Rose, and deserving of the title). She was America's dandilion -- not entirely offensive and not causing any harm, but a weed and a pest nonetheless. And impossible to ever get rid of. Even when you think a dandilion has died and you're rid of it, more pop up in its place.

Aaaaamen!
What a wonderful letter, so refreshingly direct. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
In the past two months I've been disappointed in myself for reading and paying attention to celebrity gossip because I never had before, never paid attention or cared.
I actually think I was just bored, but this is a pretty good wake-up call.

Frankly, I posted on my site the summation of my friends' reaction to the death of ANS:

Me: Did you hear Anna Nicole Smith died?
Friend: *bursts out laughing*

And to be honest? I think that was the most fitting reaction I could have had. Had we all recognized it for the absurdity that it was, and not treated it like the fucking Challenger disaster, maybe we, as an audience could scrape together some semblance of ire at people like Chez. But we have no right to criticize the media. Because unless you've changed the channel whenever you saw her looming, unless you never read any posts or articles about her, unless you never discussed her with anyone around the water cooler, you (and I) are as guilty as the media for the relentless celebrity fuckwagon that has driven through this country.

So fuck THAT. Apology is not only accepted, Chez, it's not even needed. I'll blame the masses for creating the hunger, not you for serving the meal. You can fight your own demons - no need to take on ours. If I'm going to blame someone in the media, it'll be the suits, not the soldiers.

I just re-read that post, and not only was it barely coherent, but I somehow entered DEM's website by accident. So now I will apologize. For being an idiot.

While it is rather absurd that our lame-ass media would pay so much attention to a rather low grade "celebrity", I do hope that admist the exhausted attention we do remeber that ANS was a person. She was someone's mother, daughter, sister, and friend. While on this earth her life was a scripted disaster, and it only saddens me more to see it become an even greater mess. May she be in a better place now and may we all let her rest in peace.

absolutely meaningless event

I know, scathing, bitchy, etc. . . . but I don't think anyone's death is an absolutely meaningless event. This coverage is bizarre, but not at all unexpected. The public created and fed the Anna Nicole persona, and the same public seemed to enjoy every moment of her downfall. I get the idea that she just wasn't very smart, and sadly surrounded herself with people who didn't really have her interests in mind. I'm sure it has happened to many before her, and will happen to many after. The media coverage is a joke, but, as petitefleur mentioned, she was a person, not a joke.

I liked Anna Nicole Smith.
I met her when I was a teenager, years before her show and her decline. She was really friendly and funny. She used to order her son's birthday cakes from the bakery I worked at in High School. Then her husband died and she moved and appeared to lose all of her personality. She seemed really happy then.

Dear Chez,

We, the American Public, do not want or need your apology. We are perfectly happy, being the fat Walmart shopping idiots, you Pseudo intellectuals,see us as. Let's see you try to pay your mortgage, without our dumb spending habits. Yeah that's right, We rule baby! She was our generations iconic blonde!

Trim Spa Baby!

Now I don't feel lonely avoiding every single bullshit article ever written about this woman's drug induced suicide. There are people out there just like me who take it in and spit that shit right back out. The bitch died. What a shock, but was it really? The bitch was dumb. What a shock, but was it really? The bitch had 50 million baby daddies for one baby. What a shock, but not really.

I can honestly say that it's the kind of news that has stopped me from reading the morning paper for over a month now. It's the kind of news that keeps me from going to gossip blogs like I used to. It's the kind of news that stops me from watching all the fucking local stations.

What news people should really be apologizing for is the way they kiss the asses of our exalted leaders in the government. Cover as much Anna Nicole as you want. It doesn't make you look any worse than when you uncritically pass on the bullshit the government tells us. No questions, no fact checking, just basically stenography. That's what American journalism should feel bad about.

journalists have often made habit or wringing their hands over the state of journalism.

I agree with most of the comments posted here (esp. with LL's, Adam's and Oscar's..b/c I'm sick and tired on turning to the 6 or 10 o'clock news and hearing about Brangelina).

Also, to all those that say it's disgraceful to say that her death was useless or meaningless or whatever.. I say this: She WASTED her life. So her death like her life was useless. She also left behind a daughter who will no doubt grow up to hate the fact that her mom didn't have enough love for her to stop popping pills (or whatever she was using).

The media can stop glorifying drug addicts, porn stars, prostitutes, pimps and politicians (although some argue the latter two are one and the same). When someone's mother is killed by a drunk driver you don't see her face and her biography on the news for weeks on end. Why is that? B/c she's not an addict, a whore nor a stain on humanity?

Well, I don't think this applies to me coming or going in any way, as I'm not an American.

But brilliant post nevertheless, and many, many congrats, Chez! You gotta have "Pazienza", indeed...

Now, let me give you a little perspective: the US has what is probably the most advanced news-coverage structure in the world, the most serious approach and branching in this area of human activity and wealth for it to be distributed enough. I won't even mention the freedom of expression and other possible fallacies, but, either way, things are advanced there more than anywhere else (again, probably).

Now imagine what it's like the news coverage in a country where NO ONE AT ALL is committed to real journalism or analysis, no one gives blood and sweat because "it's just a job, don't be all goody-goody" and, even when they try, it gets all set up for the wrong focus. Yes, I'm a journalist in this country. Or never was. Or was once a wannabe and gave it up.

Celebrate hell, man, there are lower levels, believe me.

One could only see that it was obvious and inevitable where this woman was headed, especially after the "mysterious death" of her beloved son. But this innocent baby is going to be the one who pays for her mothers unstable reputation. Her life will never be normal, she will always be the child of Anna Nicole Smith, and she will always be haunted with the whole sickening world her mother was so desperate to be a part of. One only hopes that she doesnt fall victim to all of the scrutiny and press and end up wacked out like her mother. The circle of life...poor baby.

Though I generally enjoy reading the reviews on Pajiba, I thought that re-posting that piece of drivel was in incredibly poor taste. She was a human, she was a mother, and she was someone's friend. And now, regardless of who she slept with and what you guys think about it, she is dead. Something tells me that the if it were Donald Trump or Charlie Sheen or some other notorious man-whore who had died, you wouldn't have had the least bit of pause covering the story.

What's my point here?

You people should at least have the common fucking decency to respect her death and not reprint someone's ramblings who is clearly just a burn-out who is tired of his job. Calling someone a whore posthumously is about as classy as digging up their corpse and taking a piss on it. I know you guys strive to try and be funny, but this is one attempt at which you utterly and completely failed.

So, pleae, go back to passing your time either criticizing or praising the work of others. It's funny to me that a website that finds its livelihood in examining entertainment would even stoop so low as to bitch about how or why any given celebrity is famous. If not for them, where would you guys be?

-s-

You people should at least have the common fucking decency to respect her death and not reprint someone's ramblings who is clearly just a burn-out who is tired of his job. Calling someone a whore posthumously is about as classy as digging up their corpse and taking a piss on it.

Very well said.

Why don't you all just get a life?
A woman's dead body is in the ground; her existence is over, as are all her chances for restitution. It blows my mind that anyone could find humor-- humor-- in the death of another human being, regardless of the circumstances under which that death took place. That is incredibly sick.

lol.

Are we gonna get an apology for Britney?

As for humor, I found no humor in the article, mostly pent up frustration being released. She was a woman who had an enormous amount of oppourtunity dropped into her lap due to her looks. Most people work much harder and never get to the level she did in life.

Everyone knows that a baby in the woods is likely to be devoured by wolves but she was in the industry for awhile. She chose to be a cracked out whore 24/7, while pregnant no less.

Who's supposed to lament the fact that she didnt care enough to pick herself up and drop the crack pipe for the sake of her children alone?

Call the people who can't or don't want to muster a tear heartless individuals with no souls, I personally could care less.

It's not my place to say that Anna wasted her life. How could I, or anyone, possibly know that?

I don't really see why any apology is necessary. Human nature is what it is, we are what we are. I liked Anna Nicole. Did I admire her? No, not at all. But as a mother, empathized with her grief over losing her son.

Regardless of how stupid her choices were, I still have some empathy for her.

"Why don't you all just get a life?
A woman's dead body is in the ground; her existence is over, as are all her chances for restitution. It blows my mind that anyone could find humor-- humor-- in the death of another human being, regardless of the circumstances under which that death took place. That is incredibly sick."

Give me a -break-. Way to miss the point. This essay wasn't about how we all need to laugh and mock poor Anna-Nicole. It is about WHY this woman who did nothing good with her life, who wasn't remotely entertaining, who was famous for being trashy, is being thrown in our faces. While thousands, millions, of good people who lived for others, who worked for their childrens' and families' happiness, aren't ever mentioned. Who WAS Anna-Nicole to warrant this-- any-- attention? That's the point of this article. Yeah, it's sad when anyone dies. ANYONE. Bob the homeless schitzo on the corner-- it's sad when he dies. But we're not seeing him on the Evening news, are we? We're not seeing every sordid detail of his life exploited on Entertainment Tonight.
Take your righteous indignation to a subject that -matters-. People die every second of every day. Do we plaster their lives all over the news?
Oh, and by the way, Anna-Nicole Smith has yet to be buried. Just another way to prolong the vapid drama of her vapid life.
Remember that ANS being on the news sets her up for more ridicule than if she simply died in obscurity. So before you go screaming about how we're all so callous for saying she shouldn't be on the news, maybe you should consider that it would be a great deal more respectful of a human life to just -drop the 'story'.

Next, do something to get the world to ignore Britney, would you?

No (fake) tits, no story. Period. Well done, Entertainment Industry of America.

I have to agree with everyone who's turned off by this "open letter." You're bitching about your industry by calling a dead person you never met a whore. Bravo you big crybaby.

I've yet to hear anyone say how she was a saint. People were sad she died and for a few days afterwards, they expressed that through various mediums. The coverage on her dropped to nearly non-existent within a few days.

If you hate the journalism you are producing, grow some balls and create/write/distribute news the way you think it should be done. You know, as an avid NPR listener, I don't think I heard ONE thing about ANS on there....so there's your pure forum. Apply for a job there Chez.

I defend insurance companies for a living. I personally hate the way they settle baseless claims just to eliminate risk, I hate the way they deal with their attorneys and I hate the way they try to avoid paying people who are actually injured. But you know what? I don't want to starve. I'll keep cashing my paycheck and spending my off hours doing the things I love and I'm passionate about. Maybe someday I'll throw in the towel but until then, I'm not about to bite the hand that feeds me.

Well, I'm amused at the fact that the media was more than happy to exploit Anna's pitfalls on a daily basis while she was alive, but are now bitching about her being in the media after her death. Whats the matter, are you worried you won't get any new headlines now that she's gone? You journalists birthed this baby, now raise it.

"and an insult to Princess Di (England's Rose, and deserving of the title)."

Please. I'd take Anna Nicole over Diana any day of the week. At least with Anna what you saw is what you got.

Brainless? Check.
Gold digger? Check.
Adulteress? Check.
Questionable fatherhood of second child? Check.

Now - let's talk about Anna Nicole...

PS - Diana was a: never "Princess Diana" - she'd have to be born royal to hold that title, she was Diana, Princess of Wales.

Apology NOT accepted. The news media caters to the public, and the American public feeds off that kinda crap. I don't think that Anna Nicole was a saint, or very talented. I don't know why her celebrity lasted so long, and I don't care.

What I do care about is the fact that she was a human being. I was never a fan of Anna Nicole's, so it seems so absurd to me to come to her defense. However messed up she was, no matter how much attention she craved, she was a person, like you and me. Yes, she chose to put herself out in the public eye, and it's human nature to be curious or have an opinion about her. But the woman lost her child just after giving birth. And forget the paternity issue. She was an emotional wreck, and died.

I agree there are more important issues that deserve to be on the news, but your industry chooses to emphasise the sensational rather than more pressing, real news. If you don't like it, leave; don't be a part of it--don't apologize. The fact that you wrote an apology means you're disgusted, and yet you still remain a part of the problem. What the media's been doing to Anna Nicole is just one example of a really low-blow: not just kicking the person while they're down, but still kicking them when they're dead.

Again, don't act so disgusted when you're still doing it. If you really feel bad, get a new job.

I'm sorry she died.

(I'm actually truly sorry when anyone dies, barring maybe Saddam Hussien or Hitler and the likes).

But I'm sorry she died.

And that's where it should've ended - in the around-the-water-cooler discussions and blogs and tabloids and fucking CNN and all the other major news networks for God's sake. Has our media and the collective intelligence of the people who read/watch/indulge in it degraded so much that we are dictated by the guilty pleasures, the popular consensus? Is this what really matters to YOU, America? Are YOU really more concerned with adding more tick marks to your growing list of suspected baby-Smith fathers than what's going on in the REAL war this country is fighting?

There used to be a distinction between tabloids and real news. Now, sad to say, they have become one in the same.

Chez,

No need to apologize to this particular member of the American public: I stopped watching ALL TV newscasts a few years ago. I mean all of it: cable, network, even the new little start-up cable stations that are funky and somewhat more free. "Entertainment" news, "regular" news, all of it. I turned it off, completely. I have no idea what you guys are or are not reporting anymore. It got so bad, I couldn't take it any longer.

I doubt very seriously I'll ever go back.

Nowdays, when I get a rare glimpse of television news (hostage in a waiting room with one TV blaring Fox News or CNN), I am amazed at how surreal it seems to me now. How completely absurd it looks and sounds. How much like an overly histrionic drama queen the whole thing is.

But thanks for the apology anyway. As someone said above, if it was a sincere one, the crap will start to stop. I certainly hope so, not that I'll be back to check.

Anastasia

Just to add on: the reason I STOPPED watching was your crappy ass coverage of what elected officials do nowdays.

Real journalism is as dead as Anna Nicole, baby.

Alexis? Shove it or get a different job. No one cares. Oh wah, you have to cover Anna Nicole Smith. Try being a firefighter or a teacher or an ER nurse. Then you'll have something to vent about, k?

Ok, thanks for the advice. You're a beacon of hope in a world gone mad.

Anastasia I agree 110%. I too have began to ween myself off of the 'news'. There's too much bullshit. No one pays much attention to the important news anymore. EVERYTHING is about sensationalism.

It's sad because I used to love to read the newspaper and watch the news but I can't take it anymore.

What burden you undertake Mr. Pazienza. I wish that your apology truly extended to the entire brain-dead populace inhabiting the world of media. I rarely watch television anymore and tossed cable four years ago because the content was, well, crap. I feel certain nothing has changed in four years.

Regardless, it is heartening to hear a sincere mea culpa from a single media person. It's a beacon of hope, however small and far away.

What news people should really be apologizing for is the way they kiss the asses of our exalted leaders in the government.

Cover as much Anna Nicole as you want.

It doesn't make you look any worse than when you uncritically pass on the bullshit the government tells us.

Posted by: LL at February 16, 2007 10:42 PM

So well-said, just thought I'd second it.

PS--as someone struggling day and night to make a living in ways that have integrity and real value, I just have to say--if you stay in a job that you think is fucked-up and wrong, just for the paycheck, you really are just making it harder for people who are doing something good, or who truly want to.

This is a free country. If you hate your job, quit. Yeah, integrity's hard--it always has been, all throughout history. But if you don't even try, really try, then you're a sellout--and you're unfortunately part of what is so terribly wrong with this country right now, whether you mean to be or not.

Anyway, let this woman pass. Calling her a whore desn't make her look bad now, just you.

Didn't someone say the only thing we owe the dead is the truth?

You don't earn a halo as a consolation prize for dying. Don't forget AN sold pictures of her own dead son for $600,000. And her bikini-clad wedding soon after. I'm not even sure if she waited until after his funeral

Death is supposed to pay all debts. I would be completely willing to pass this trainwreck in silence. Except...if Anna Nicole were alive, you know she would be thrilled with all the publicity. That's what she lived for, and that's what she died for.

I agree with you, Vi, about quitting the jobs that eat away at our conscience. I know this will come off as sanctimonious--and to be frank, I didn't have a brood of kids to feed, so it was possible for me--but after five years writing advertising copy, I finally did it and left a cool lofty salary of over $60,000 a year and lived on less than $12,000 as a student to pursue something that fit me better and let me sleep at night.

I'm still not back up to that salary range--far from it. But I've always had an ethical issue with marketing, yet somehow found myself in the middle of the industry...Jesus, I am so glad I snapped that cord.

I really feel for anyone still in that situation--it's a hard one. But for most of us--those willing to make the sacrifices and work your ass off and, honestly, be willing to face temporary risk and ridicule--it's doable. I sometimes think, though, that you have to be facing 30 and the "THIS is the rest of my life????" bugbear before the motivation gets red enough to act.

O the dramatic straits of the feed-and-clothed-and-roofed white-collar clutch...everyone should have our problems, huh? But seriously, it's one thing to work a joe job that doesn't hurt anyone and makes you feel a sense of accomplishment at day's end, no matter how menial--it's quite another to get paid for doing something you know in your gut is wrong or contributes to something socially worthless.

I've seen too many newspeople trying to separate themselves from the "seamy" side of the media, as if they exist in a higher sphere. The news world is simply more schooled at their subtle projection of BS. See the news anchor pretending to be the nightly "friend" of millions of collective viewers, as if they truly were concerned of each and every one of us. See the sexed up babes cooing the news to us in their casual fun and flirty manner. Yes, the news media is SO much more respectable......and the emperor is wearing a beautiful suit of clothing! If you want to improve the situation, do something worth talking about instead of whining to the blog readers.

I am so Sad to see such a great loss of talent and life !!They The media ARE SCUM they have no morals or respect for anyone but them selfs!!We should grab there cameras from them and stalk them 24/7 expose them see how well they can take it!! There all losers makin money off the stars,they should have too give some of there earnnigs % to the STARS!! REST IN PEACE ANNA NICHOLE SMITH!!! NO HATE HERE!! ONLY LOVE HERE!! ()

How can anyone go on and on about Anna Nicole when her mother is the true bitch here, My son was in the air force and now he lays in a cold ground and YES i want to be put beside him. Her mother virgie is a bitch she had no contact with that woman and now she wants to play the grieving mother oh poor woman where was she when Daniel died? She says she wasnt allowed there ok why she wait until anna died to visit the grave? Why didnt she try and see her child and dead grandson then? There was no money involved thats why so go after the true culprit Virgie ...

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