Christine and Megan face off on the question of whether news is really news and is it even necessary?$0$0$0Christine Sulkis says-$0Without news, society would be made up of a bunch of babbling idiots. News gives everyone something to talk about, whether it’s the latest on a politician’s most recent love scandal or the war in Iraq. Whether you like it or not, news plays a very important part in all of our lives. $0Over the last couple of years, news has gone drastically down hill. There seems to be less and less to write about in this world of entertainment and celebrities. Worthwhile stories have become a rare find and the random nonsense stories have become ubiquitous. $0$0While beneficial news seems to be almost nonexistent nowadays, it is still out there. A few loyal reporters still remain who stick to their guns and write about more than Paris Hilton. $0$0When Hurricane Ike hit, we all turned to our televisions for the latest updates on its current location and how much damage had been inflicted. Without news, all of this information would have been unknown. $0$0How would anyone know anything without news? News goes beyond people with big microphones on TV. News is everywhere. It is in our homes and in our schools. News is how we find out who’s dating who and how we find out what “she said, he said, she said.” Though it may not always be the most hard-hitting story, it impacts all of us. $0$0Before cell phones and the Internet, the news was practically the only way of learning what had happened around their city during the day. People rushed home after work and turned on their TVs to find out the latest news. $0$0News can also be a glimpse at other societies, a taste of what others are going through. It can show us that our lives aren’t quite as bad as we think they are. News is our access to the outside world. $0$0Most of us live in a bubble. We’re stuck in League City, Texas. We don’t really pay attention to what goes on outside of our tightly knit social circles. News can change that. It can show us that there’s something out there besides us. $0$0It can teach us to stop complaining about our petty problems and think about how good we have it. Maybe it can make us realize that our lives are exceptionally great. There are people out there living lives that most of us couldn’t even begin to fathom living. News can capture that. It shows us things we can’t just go outside and see. It can force us to go beyond our social bubbles. $0$0News keeps us up to date with current events. It can entertain us, inform us, and even teach us. It impacts all of us. It has the ability to make us laugh, make us cry, comfort us, frighten us, and maybe even humble us a little bit. Though reporters these days may not always choose the best stories, there are stories out there that are worthwhile. The news has something for everyone. It has something for the Paris Hilton wannabe, the stock market junky, the worried mother, and even people like you and me. News is not irrelevant. It’s a way to see into the lives of others, a way to make us stop and think, and a way to bring us all together.$0$0Megan McKisson says-$0Top three most popular stories on CNN.com at 10:10 a.m. on April 14, 2009: a babysitter’s abuse leads to life of drugs and violence for an actress, 80’s porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56, and an ostentatious purple garage irks it’s Sequim, Washington neighbors. Don’t blink, though, because in 20 minutes these top stories will be updated and replaced with even more pressing news. $0$0The media today has made a mockery of American society by presenting it with “news” – fragmented stories of celebrities, madmen, and murderers that only briefly capture the attention of a highly-ADD audience. The news has become an ongoing, unrelated feed of only slightly relative garbage, feeding it’s viewers thousands of stories per minute, each more outlandish than the next. $0$0CNN, one of America’s most popular news stations, is becoming notorious for its sensationalist “soft” news stories. When I find myself in need of a good laugh (or at least a heavy sigh) I venture to its pages. One of the most offensive recent items was a story about single women who bemoan their individual existence, entitled “Why Some Single Women Just Need to Shut Up”. The author spent a good portion of the article describing content single women as “happies” and dissatisfied single women as “crappies”. She then gave tips for the “crappies” to find a significant other, or at least happiness in their single lifestyle – to “quit whining, stop making self-righteous excuses, turn off your TV, get out there, and meet people”. $0$0Such “breaking” news is the paragon of modern-day journalism’s preference for the petty, trivial non-stories that only briefly satiate its audience’s thirst for entertainment. The main appeal of a contemporary news show lies in the allure of its visuals; it’s flashing graphics and charming anchors. Another recent CNN story, about a cell phone that was found in the belly of a 30-pound $0cod fish, illustrates this concept perfectly. Throughout the story, the smiling anchor included several painfully scripted puns, such as when he stated that it was “no longer accurate to call this a cell phone…it’s more like a … (pause, sniff, sniff) smell phone.” $0$0This type of almost sitcom-like humor is prevalent in hundreds of newscasts all over the Internet, a testament to American’s addiction to the fast, the funny, and the fragmented. It has become almost impossible to differentiate between a news webcast and a popular YouTube video. $0$0Both are short broadcasts that have one sole purpose: to entertain. That’s really the root of the media problem – Americans gobble the garbage up with delight and hungrily search for more. While the newscasts may be to blame for feeding this junk-food addiction, we must realize that above all, they are just giving us what the American appetite demands: silly, fluffy stories with no real substance.$0