Caring About Not Caring

A recently-released CNN poll revealed that only 15% of people in the United States are interested in the upcoming Royal Wedding and only 6% say they plan to get up and watch the ceremony. (A further breakdown of this group shows it's basically girls under the age of 12, some gay men and the women who go in groups to romantic comedies on the first night they open.) However, you would never have surmised that lack of interest from the news around here, because coverage of the wedding is in the A-block of every nightly newscast. Every day we get speculation about the dress, the guest list, the food and the weather forecast. It is just another example of the loud few being able to get a spotlight shone on their topic of choice while the silent majority are left to sit back and wonder just why the hell this is considered news.

Not that I can really blame the news directors for assuming people care - the Charles/Diana Royal Wedding brought in huge ratings and with their son involved the networks are trying to duplicate that success. 15% might not seem like a lot, but in this day and age of 300 channels and a million potential distractions online it's a huge number. Plus, there are no other ongoing sagas to cover right now: no elections, oil spills or pregnant Pandas to keep us glued to the TV. Take all those away and you're left with the reality that rest of the news is depressing. It's all war, violence, car accidents and people getting stabbed at baby showers in Lawrence. [Sidebar: at this point I almost feel bad for the Lawrence Police Chief. That guy is on TV more than Mayor Menino, desperately trying to reassure us that his city is not one step away from Thunderdome.] When compared to those other options it's no wonder a news team would jump at the chance to report on a story involving a pretty princess and a wedding.

Besides, there is a bonus for the remaining 85% of us who don't really care about this wedding - bitching about how much we can't stand the Royal Wedding and how much coverage it is getting has become the new, "So, how about this weather?" If at any point this week you find yourself with a pause in a conversation just bring up the Royal Wedding I guarantee people will start talking again, even if it's only to yell about how annoying it is. We finally have something to bring us all together. Complaining about the amount of coverage the Royal Wedding is getting on the news could almost be it's own news story. (And before you say anything, yes, I appreciate the irony that talking about how much you can't stand the attention something is getting is just another way that thing gets attention.) Frankly, I'm surprised some enterprising people out there haven't begun selling anti-wedding plates to go along with the commemorative ones currently for sale.

The good news is that we are almost done with this. The best thing about an event getting too much news coverage is that at least you know for sure when it will be finished. After Saturday we can go back to our normal lives of ignoring everything about the Royal family. (Which, I will remind you, is a choice we made way back in 1776.) Once this wedding is over we just need to figure out expiration dates for the other annoying stories which get too much attention, such as the NFL lock-out and anything involving Lindsey Lohan. We'll have to go back to talking about the weather, but in my mind that is a small price to pay.