The Associated Press Blocks Out Paris Hilton

Friday, March 02, 2007

The Associated Press released a story today. In it, they asked, did anyone miss Paris Hilton?  The AP conducted an experiment, in sorts, in which they refused to print any news stories on Miss Paris Hilton.  The black out officially lasted for one week.

The reason for the block out, says the AP, is not a protest against Paris Hilton. Nor, is it an attempt to get the American public to focus on more important issues, namely the war in Iraq, and who will be the next president of the United States.  No, they say, the reason for the ban was only to see what would happen. Would anyone notice? And if so, what would people say?

Well, it turned out that people did notice and they did have something to say. However, their comments were not about Ms. Paris Hilton. None of the news outlets, which rely on the AP, called asking for a Paris Hilton story. No one called saying that they were being unfair to Ms. Hilton. No, the comments were more about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. If, for example, the AP blocked out Paris Hilton, will they next block out all Democrats running for President. And, what is the potential effect of a block out on something as important as the war in Iraq. One person did jokingly comment that Korea should be blocked out.

So, what Paris Hilton stories did the AP not print?  Paris Hilton’s second birthday party did not get coverage. Nor, did her recent trip to Puerto Rico to promote her new body fragrance. They did print a blurb about her recent arrest for driving on a suspended license. But, says the AP, it was just a blurb; and by then their block out had become public knowledge.