All Anna Nicole Smith, All the Time

(Via Think Progress)

The death of Anna Nicole Smith yesterday was a feeding frenzy for the national media, and coverage of the war was drowned out: NBC’s Nightly News devoted 14 seconds to Iraq compared to 3 minutes and 13 seconds to Anna Nicole. CNN referenced Anna Nicole 522% more frequently than it did Iraq. MSNBC was even worse — 708% more references to Anna Nicole than Iraq.

The lop-sided coverage largely ignored many key developments in Iraq, including the sixth downing of a U.S. helicopter in the past three weeks, the allegations that a deputy Iraqi health minister was aiding a Shiite militia in its attacks against U.S. troops, and the death of four Marines.

(Via Bob Harris)

Condolences to those few directly affected by Anna Nicole Smith's sudden demise.

Still, while CNN and FOX go into 24/7 wall-to-wall dead Playmate mode, here are a few other things they could be talking about today:

• North Korea may agree to disarm its nuclear program.

• Hamas and Fatah have reached an accord giving the Palestinians a united front.

• NATO's top commander in Afghanistan says more troops will be needed to fight the Taliban, but many large NATO nations don't want to send them.

• Iran has just tested a missile which can strike US ships in the Persian Gulf, and they promise to retaliate for any attack. Still, Bush's advisers are pushing for war.

So you can see why Anna Nicole's death is getting all the coverage. Slow news day.