Does Lippmann Prevail?

This morning I read a tweet posted by @RedEyeChicago that read "On Whitney's death: Love the talent, not the hype, and then get back to work".  I found this quote to be a little puzzling the first few times I read it.  I kept re-reading it throughout the day and for some reason it kept reminding me of the News IQ quiz I took yesterday in a communications class.  Probably because we, society at large, hold on to celebrity news and culture to the point that it lingers around for far longer than it should.  I agree with this quote in that we should acknowledge the event at hand, put it behind us, and move on.  Anyways, in class the entire quiz was fixed around politicians, executives, and geography which all seem relevant considering it was was quiz on news topics.  Interestingly, there were a ton of people in class that took the quiz and didn't do as well as they expected to do before the first question was even asked.  After taking the quiz and going through the answers, I announced to the class I was surprised there wasn't a question on Mariah Carey, although I had meant to say Whitney Houston who died recently and seems to be taking over the news.  Amongst everyone's verbal confusions (i.e. "pssh" "what?" etc.)  I knew it was a valid thought.  Think about it.  How often are our "news only" channels covering topics involving celebrities and celebrity culture?  I would say, all the time!  On another note, I guarantee everyone in the room would have gotten the question right had one been about the entertainment industry, especially if it had been on Whitney Houston, famous vocalist/musician.  While everyone would most likely get 100% on an entertainment industry quiz, half of the class didn't recognize the proper Republican symbol, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, or who was winning the house of representatives.  Does anyone else find this mind boggling?  Why don't more classmates of mine know some of the most important icons/figures in our corporate and government culture?  Is it a lack of teaching, interest, or news watching?  What would Walter Lippmann say about such uninformed students?

If I had to guess, he'd say, "Thank you.  I've just won the debate against John Dewey". And walk away.  (no discussion needed).


Tom P.