I am very, VERY tired of hearing about Anna Nicole Smith.

[mwb970]

How long is this going to go on? The Natalee Holloway blanket coverage lasted over a year, with some correspondents moving to Aruba to provide endless coverage of this ultimate non-story. Can we look forward to a year or more of this same level of coverage of the Smith non-story?

I think they are now trying to determine which of the dozens of men she evidently slept with is the father of her infant child. She apparently is famous solely for taking off her clothes and acting drunk or stoned in public. I cannot fathom why anyone would care about this sordid mess, but I guess they must, since the media certainly remain on "full alert".

[liberal N proud]

1. Anna who?

I just blot it out, change the station.

The media will milk this one as long as they can

[mzmolly]

2. What's happening now?

:P I am curious as hell about this sh*t.

[BuelahWitch]

6. Her "family" is trying to get the body released

Because it is decomposing so rapidly they're afraid they won't be able to have an open casket.
And her former Nanny said that Anna told her to underfeed her baby so that she'd be "sexy."

[mzmolly]

Such an odd story all around. Not sure I believe the nanny on that "sexy" stuff.

:crazy:

Thanks for the update. This case will drag on and on and on...

[BuelahWitch]

25. Supposedly there's a sworn affadavit from the Nanny

http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/anna-nicole-starved-baby/2007/02/15/1171405374331.html?s_cid=rss_smh

[mzmolly]

44. I've seen the affidavit ...

Here it is if you want to take a peek?

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/021407_affidavit_2.pdf

It doesn't make much sense to me. How can a baby monitor provide proof of the amount your feeding a child? If ANS said "I'll shoot you if she calls you mommy" it was probably said in jest? Also the signature on the document looks like it's from a person with broken english/foreign? Leaves room for misinterpretation/miscommunication. And, she filed the "complaint" after she was terminated. Also, it's pretty normal for a person who just lost a son to be distraught, and perhaps have mood swings? If ANS tried to kill herself, that's another matter however.

Also, I've seen pictures of the baby, she never looked underweight?

And the amount to feed a baby of <1 month is: 7 to 8 bottles daily 2 to 4 ounces per feeding. 3 ounces is not written in stone. It's possible that the baby was spitting up from over eating and as such, she was instructed to feed her 2.5 vs. 3 ounces? She may have "joked" about her being sexy as a rationale? But to a person who doesn't speak English it could be taken literally? I dunno, It seems she's being smeared in ways she probably doesn't deserve? There is perhaps a legit criticism of a pregnant women who uses methadone however there is a flip side:

General agreement exists that pregnancy offers a unique opportunity to bring women into medical, obstetric, and drug treatment. Methadone maintenance in the setting of comprehensive service provision during pregnancy reduces maternal morbidity and mortality and promotes fetal stability and growth. With an accumulated experience of over 25 years, methadone maintenance has been shown to be an invaluable and often an essential ingredient in bettering the health of women during pregnancy, in improving the outcomes of those pregnancies, and in offering opiate-addicted women a chance to improve both their lives and the lives of their families.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10214548&dopt=Abstract it's possible she was getting off other substances due to her pregnancy?

...

The media has also flashed (stolen) pictures around of ANS with the minister of immigration in the Bahamas. She was in bed and they embraced in the photos. Turned out that the man was at her baby shower, and she was on bed rest. There were other pictures from the shower that back up the innocent assertion.

And, it was said that Howard K. Stern got a million dollars for his interviews with ET. ET disputed that claim on Larry King and said they don't pay for interviews - period. They also talked about how they had to press Stern for an interview and stated that he was receptive only because he wanted some documentation about what was happening in the Bahamas etc.

I guess I don't believe much of what is being said right now?

Thanks for engaging me. :hi: /blather ;)

[crappyjazz]

3. One of my co-workers is totally oblvious

as to who ANS even is. I was at first aghast ... and then incredibly envious.

[Poll_Blind]

4. I can't blame Anna, I blame the media. Anna Nicole Smith was...

...many things- everything from a supermodel to an enabled, mean-spirited lush.

  But this crime against us is no part of her doing, when alive or dead. It's the media. The media chooses to place on the airwaves what it chooses to place on the airwaves. Their industry is bread and circuses, and Anna's life, pregnancy, drug abuse and death are an entire 10-in-1 in themselves.

  But in the same way that I can not blame the deformed, the retarded or the diseased for their performance under the big-top tent of P.T. Barnum, I cannot blame Anna for the circus. Like P.T. Barnum, the media will march any number of hermaphrodites, dancing bears and fat ladies forcibly past our passive television eye while the burlap curtain hides the blood and uselessness of the Iraq war and a dozen-dozen other things which Americans should be presented with.

  Anna was a very disturbed individual, seemingly surrounded by disturbed individuals. This destructive environment led to the death of her son, whose victimization in this lifestyle is often under-rated, and her own. But this particular danse grotesque is unrelated to her.

  She is a placeholder. She is the missing bride. She is the blonde kidnapped in the Caribbean. She is the shark attack.

  She is just a placeholder.

PB

[Mike Daniels]

5. The media attention given to ANS's death is soon to surpass that given to Ford

For good or ill, Ford at least did something with his life that justified the amount of time given to his death.

I'd like to think that if it wasn't for the kid the media would have stopped caring about ANS by now but I wouldn't bet my life on it

[Bluebear]

7. 'which of the dozens of men she evidently slept with'

Where is the "evidence" of that? A bunch of money-hungry male leeches claiming that they did?

[mwb970]

13. Actually, I heard one of her insiders mention "hundreds".

I thought that seemed extreme so I used "dozens". But you're right, it's not much of a source. Her behavior does appear to render the charge believable (did you see her "sleeping" with the Bahamas immigration official or whoever he was?), but who knows? Perhaps she was an innocent naif who saved herself for marriage.

[Bluebear]

23. You couch things in terms of sexual guilt, i.e. 'innocent' naif, the 'charge'

The girl is dead, the media is making a circus out of it, men are coming out of the woodwork to claim her millions, I just don't see blaming the dead girl as right.

[mwb970]

41. I meant only to highlight the excessiveness of the media coverage.

I'm sorry, but I simply don't know of anything she has done that is not sexual in some way. That's my fault. But I'm not "blaming" her for MSNBC covering her instead of the Iraq debate. I'm blaming MSNBC.

[blonndee]

20. And even if she did,

it's her business. I don't get why so many people (not you!) seem to be so concerned with the sex lives of others (mostly women), especially people they don't even know. Actually, I have some ideas as to why, but I'll keep them to myself. :)

[Goblinmonger]

59. I just want to make it public

that I could be the father of the baby. Really. No, really.

[Coventina]

8. I would humbly suggest not posting a thread about her, then.

:shrug:

[mwb970]

15. The thread was intended to be about the media.

Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

[Coventina]

18. Sorry, I was confused by the title.

:hi:

[mwb970]

You're right. I updated the title for clarity. /nt

[treestar]

37. It's not about her, it's about the relentless media coverage of her

death! Which is always interesting, IMO. What the media chooses to cover. Is it a slow news day? Or is there something they don't want noticed? The M$M could be using this to distract us from * bombing some country.

:hi:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Simple solution:

Turn off the teevee.

[Goblinmonger]

61. They come with off buttons? n/t

[postulater]

10. How do you think SHE feels?

[Goblinmonger]

63. Kinda cold and clammy

and probably getting a little squishy.

[Stuckinthebush]

11. But she is America's princess!

Come on now! Get in the game!

;)

[etherealtruth]

12. She did nothing except ...

... DIE.

The media is out of control.

[Bluebear]

14. This poster is mad that she "slept with dozens"

We are the progressive purity police now. :eyes:

[mwb970]

17. Again, I was commenting on her lionization by the media.

I don't care if she slept with a sting ray. I just don't want to hear about it.

[etherealtruth]

31. delete

[buckybadger2007]

46. I don't care who she slept with, but she did nothing IMHO to get this attention

She married a guy for money and then led a downward spiral of a life. So what? She contributed NOTHING to the country other than a couple of naked pics.

[Raffi Ella]

16. right?

I can't believe the newscasters can sit there with a straight face,acting sooo solemn, while "reporting" the most sordid,trashy pure gossip/tabloidesque details surrounding 'Anna'.
They dub it "Breaking News" as if we've just bombed Iran only to find out yet another man has claimed parentage to Annas baby.

Jeezus Chryst.

CNN isn't as bad as MSNBC.I was actually able to get news on CNN this morning while MSNBC was on a marathon Anna jag.

[Sydnie]

19. I will admit to finding this portion of the coverage at least a tab bit

interesting. Seeing how the lawyers are jockeying for position and how the judge is responding, in what would otherwise be a closed door, personal matter, has caught a moment of my attention.

Common sense would tell us to just take the tests we need to prove where she belongs, now that her mother is gone, bury the woman and call it quits, which would happen were there not the question of MONEY to be decided at a later date.

It's the MONEY that changes everything. It is an interesting lesson in following the money, abstract or not.

[Cameron27]

33. It's a story run wild

and I freely admit that I've been seduced into watching it. It's macabre, it's tawdry, it's sad, but it's also a juicy and delicious diversion from politics that comes in handy once in awhile.

Ask me what I'd rather watch, a bush press conference or a bizarre trial determining the father of a baby worth 1/2 billion dollars...and from which one do I think the slightest hint of truth will emerge? :+

[5X]

21. Is she still dead?

[treestar]

39. It's such a soap opera, I wouldn't even be surprised if she DID

come back to life! :rofl:

Maybe she'll be recast.

[meldroc]

66. In today's news, Anna Nicole Smith is still dead.

Her condition has stabilized and is not expected to deteriorate any further.

[JuniperLea]

22. How is starting a thread about it going to help? n/t

[mwb970]

27. I guess misery loves company.

I am especially disappointed that MSNBC, which I normally watch for hours every day (I even like Tucker), seems to be the worst offender. Good thing we've got Rita Cosby on location to keep us up to date.

[Raffi Ella]

49. lol,Rita came back JUST for this story.

I'm an MSNBC junkie too.It truly does suck to have the network taken over like this.

[JuniperLea]

67. I have a quick thumb; the remote is always within arm's reach

I'm proud to say I have not watched two consecutive minutes of this circus.

The media is a tool and responds to what people want to see. Sadly, the majority of the US populous either a) can't stop from watching this train wreck, or b) can't stop themselves from complaining about the interest in said train wreck.

I guess I belong to group c) I hope ANS rests in peace. Beyond that, I refuse to let the media tool tinker with my head.

To quote Rush's "Tom Sawyer"... My mind is not for rent.


Perhaps you should save yourself some aggravation and put out a "no vacancy" sign yourself.

[AlCzervik]

24. it's pretty easy to not get ANS news, there are many other places you can watch news and hear very

little or nothing about her at all.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

26. Hang In There MWB! I Just Called The Cops For You And They'll Be There Shortly!

As soon as I got done reading your OP I called the cops for you, since evidently someone has tied you down and is holding a gun to your head forcing you to watch this stuff...

Hang in there. They will be apprehended soon.

[mwb970]

28. Wait till they take off *your* favorite programs for ANS.

You might be more sympathetic then. What can I say? I'm a news viewer, and this isn't news.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

32. ...

:nopity:

[treestar]

40. Are you the father of her baby!

Admit it now!

[npincus]

29. it does, however, belong on Court TV

ok... I admit it. I watched some of the hearing this morning (custody of her body) on Court TV... the legal arguments and counterpoints presented by the various parties on behalf of their clients was very interesting for this non-lawyer. Also, the theatre of the thing; the demeanor of the presiding judge struck me as abrasive at first, but I think he's doing well, controlling a massively complicated and emotional proceeding with many parties involved.

The ANS story does NOT merit blanket coverage in the MSM-- same old shit. Don't look there, look HERE.

But, the ANS story is essentially a multi-pronged court battle now: custody of her body, the parentage of her child, distribution of her estate, and then, her estate's battle for her portion of her ex-husband's estate. That's fodder for Court TV, not MSM news broadcasts.

[NoGOPZone]

30. The coverage is not all bad

It takes away from some of the hype that would otherwise be devoted to American Idol.

[SheilaT]

34. Poor Anna Nicole

is simply the latest in a rather long series of "distraction" stories. Somehow, those who run the media outlets are convinced we'd rather read, watch, listen about her than anything else, especially anything of substance. Keep in mind there are great visuals (that face! that body!), pretty much everyone knows who she is and has a sense of the high points of the story (she married a very rich, very old man who died and she's been battling for his billions ever since; she has lived much of her life publicly, as a model, on the cover of Playboy, with her sad reality show; and most recently she gave birth to a baby girl whose father she declined -- or perhaps was unable -- to name only three days before her 19 year old son died of a drug overdose). So there's not a lot of information to be filled in, unlike, say, whether or not the new HPV virus is a good idea and should be required, or what's really going on in Iran and who really is supplying all the bombs that are blowing up Iraqis.

Basically, no real news reporting needs to be done, which is the case in every other 24/7 story we've endured in the past twenty years or so: OJ, Jon Benet Ramsay, that unfortunate girl who went missing in the Bahamas, and so on.

[treestar]

35. It's a soap opera

It does seem to reflect something about life in America, too. We hear too much about it, but I have to admit I'm curious just who that father is. I wish they would do the DNA tests and be done with it!

[BurtWorm]

36. So don't start any more threads about her.

:shrug:

[mwb970]

48. The thread was intended as a comment on the excessive media coverage.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/13/the-daily-show-rips-msm-for-anna-nicole-coverage/

Did you catch this segment of The Daily Show? My thoughts were along this line.

[BurtWorm]

58. Don't mind me.

I'm just bitter because I've started some threads on Iraq and economics and they had to compete with this and other popular threads and they didn't compete well.

:patriot:

[kid a]

38. it's MY baby...

[in_cog_ni_to]

42. What??? You weren't THRILLED TO DEATH to see the medical examiner's lab where Anna had her autopsy??

Rita Cosby did a BREATHTAKING report INSIDE the lab! ~~~~~~~~***catching my breath from the THRILL of it all!!!!***~~~~~~~~~~:eyes: That one iced the cake.:eyes:

The coverage is SICK! The media didn't give two shits about ANS when she was alive and now they act like she was some big time famous movie star. It's fucking ridiculous.

[treestar]

43. Did you see the Daily Show last night? It made fun of CNN's

coverage of the "death frig" and how they actually looked into their own studio frig to see what it had in it!

[in_cog_ni_to]

45. I did see that clip on Scarborough's show.

It's all so damn BIZARRE!

[Sydnie]

55. but, at the very least

it gets Rita out of the country ... she just loves those stories from sunny islands, doesn't she?

:hug:

[in_cog_ni_to]

62. Fun in the sun for Rita.

Give her any dead blond, in any sunny location and SHE'S THERE...breathlessly giving her dramatic play by play report. Maybe she'll decide she likes the Bahamas so much she'll stay there? Could I be so lucky? ;)

:hug:

[Nikki Stone1]

47. Then why the F*CK post another thread on the useless piece of garbage?

Why feed the beast?

[Bluebear]

50. Useless piece of garbage!?!?! Who is liberal enough to earn your sympathy?

:eyes:

[mwb970]

52. I was hoping for a discussion of the media coverage.

...especially on cable, and the way they sieze on one story, allowing it to dominate their broadcasts way out of proportion to the actual importance of the story or the number of people affected, etc. Smith is just the current story, but they do this all the time.

I remember when I had to stop watching the evening news for several months in the 70s since the entire half hour was Watergate, Watergate, Watergate, no other story, every single day. In 1976 (And '75, come to think of it), there was saturation coverage of America's Bicentennial until I wanted to go out and burn a flag myself. And remember all Monica all the time?

These are just a few of the numerous TV news "fads" we have suffered through, of which the ANS coverage is merely the latest.

[mzmolly]

53. "useless piece of garbage?"

She was a human being who never harmed another soul. Goodness, I don't get the rancor?

[Bluebear]

54. So much for tolerance and respect for differences.

One of the hallmarks for being a liberal, imho.

[mzmolly]

56. Goodness

I agree. Don't we value imperfect human beings? After all, we are all imperfect. If a mass murderer had passed away, I could understand the loathing, but a harmless person who just lost a son?

Pretty pathetic when Karla Faye Tucker gets more sympathy here, than a women who never harmed anyone.

[Bluebear]

57. I've never seen anything like it.

These people who are blaming the media for showing this coverage: first of all you have to believe that if the Anna Nicole machinations were not being broadcast, they would actually be showing some news about Iraq or Bush's incompetence etc. We see how that's gone for 7 years now. Cripes, blame the media, not some girl who dies brokenhearted at age 39. Useless piece of garbage indeed.

[mzmolly]

60. Agreed.

Our media has always been sensationalistic, it's nothing new. I was far more disturbed about hearing every detail of Clinton's sexual encounters.

SHEESH!

:hi:

[jayctravis]

51. It's like an episode of Monk.

Rich lady who got her money through scheming.

Her son, the natural heir is dead of... an overdose I think?

She dies mysteriously.

Everyone wants that baby girl now.

[Cleita]

64. Do yourself a favor and don't watch news TV.

I haven't for a couple of years except the local news at eleven to catch up on the weather and other local items of interest to me. Oh, I do watch Keith Olberman, Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert. I read on the internet the major newspapers and others. I can go to the NYT, WPO, etc. and pick the stories I want to read. Then I come to DU and other websites and blogs to pick up what I may have missed.

My life has been Natalie Holloway and now Anna Nicole Smith free, other than what leaks to DU and what the Daily Show and Colbert satirize. Now I am going to go use the hide-a-thread function for the rest of the Anna Nicole Smith threads. Maybe in six months I might google to find out what happened in the end, but the fact is that the woman is dead and all the news coverage in the world isn't going to bring her back to life.

It's time to move on about important things like all the Americans killed in a war zone because of the greed of the oil men lead by our President and Vice President.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

65. As long as the advertisers can milk her corpse. Sleazy celebs sell.

Much more than "news" about dead Iraqis, dead GI's, starving Africans, or scientists talking about global warming.

The media provides the circuses and advertises the bread.