your attempt to make a sweeping generalization from one isolated incidents that the korean hostage were low priority for koreans? not correct and not fair.

You are absolutely correct. As far as celebrity “news” goes, I never have, and probably NEVER will, understand people’s fascination with what the rich and/or famous celebrities are doing. ANYTHING is more important that that, but for some reason, there is not much that draws in more viewers.

But I was, and still am, completely amazed that KBS2 didn’t even put a news crawler across the bottom of the screen announcing that 8 hostages had been freed or that one is reported to have been murdered. As huge as an issue as this is for Korea, it makes no sense that they wouldn’t even do that.

Whatever channel 4 is on my TV had several stories, calls from correspondents in the Middle-East,and a report from a reporter standing in front of the Blue House.

If the soccer game is just too important to cut into, you’d think they would at least have a crawler. I just don’t get it.

The same can be said for major stories in the US.

When Paris Hilton was in jail the focus on her was obscene. The focus should have been on drunk driving. The same holds for Lindsay Lohan. She gets a whole panel of people talking ad nauseum about her on Larry King Live when maybe the focus should have been on drug abuse and driving under the influence.

CNN clearly thinks, and is probably right, that a panel on Lindsay Lohan’s problems interspersed with photos of her in bikinis and glamorous gowns would get more attention than discussing the victims of drivers too irresponsible and self-absorbed to find a way to get home that doesn’t involve them putting themselves, and, most importantly, others in harm’s way.

It doesn’t make KBS2’s focus right, but you can’t say that the same thing doesn’t occur elsewhere.