I love Paris Hilton, and I think you do too.

So this thing got spread all over YouTube like fake cheese on a Ritz cracker, and it begs the ongoing question among newsmakers as to what is newsworthy and what is not.
I go back and forth on this issue, and I've been contemplating it since the Associated Press attempted a moratorium on stories about Paris Hilton.
On one hand, I'd like to argue that the readers in part determine the content of the news, meaning if the people want it, the people get it. In a sense. While we don't want to jeopardize our integrity by merely feeding the masses what they demand, we definitely create our news (in part) based on what we think people will actually read.
On the other hand, most of us got into this business with a bit of the "save the world" complex, and the actions of Paris Hilton certainly don't fall under that umbrella.
But then I look at my own newsroom and how the reporters respond to Paris updates — we were rapt the day she went back to jail — I realize the bit of hypocrisy that surfaces when the media complain about these kind of news stories. The fact is, we love to hate it. Some of us even just love it. For whatever reason, we love it as much as anyone else, and that's why it hits the news.
I could go on to a diatribe about her trial, and what it said for the justice system. Her being released because of medical issues was a smack in the face to any Tom, Dick or Harry trying to work their way through the courts. And I believe that. But that doesn't obscure the fact that if I hear some ridiculous news story about some ridiculous celebrity (Tom Cruise is one of my personal favorites to mock), I eat it up just as much as the next person.
Am I proud of this? Hardly. Am I ashamed? That's another question, but I think I stand firmly on the fence on this issue, because as much as I'd love to cheer when I see news clips like this (and really, bravo for making a stand), I feel a little sheepish when I realize that I'm only watching it because someone forwarded me a funny clip with promises of gossip about Paris Hilton.