Topic 28 Has the media paid too much attention to celebrities? In this global information age where newspapers or magazines are always handy (всегда под рукой) and TV has already turned so many people into couch tomatoes

In this global information age where newspapers or magazines are always handy (всегда под рукой) and TV has already turned so many people into couch tomatoes, few people concern about what these mass media has brought to us; we just accept it anyway. While I think the current focus on personal lives of famous people by these media requires further consideration.

Admittedly (следует признать, что), it is reasonable for those media to continuously pay great attention to celebrities, the present fierce competition (жесткой конкуренции) of the various media, the hard-topleased audiences' (публика; зрители) taste, the bombastic (напыщенный, помпезный) effect of coverage of these shining figures (блестящие цифры). No surprise sometimes that we feel we just know more than those famous people than themselves.

However, the consequence of such intense coverage (освещение события) on public figures' personal lives not only violate those being-focused on a certain level, but also do harm to us being-informed in some ways. Firstly, the privacy of those celebrities is ineluctably (неизбежно) encroached (посягают) from time to time. Sometimes the result is sad - do not forget the tragedy of Princess Diana. Secondly, our attention is certainly being diverted (отвлекаться) by such tide of craziness about celebrities (волна сумасшествия о знаменитостях). What about those viewers who want to see something about ordinary people' lives? How can mass media not concern more about those people suffering from pain and poverty?

passing fad — минутная прихоть (звезда однодневка)

Furthermore, one of the significant results of the current fad (сейчас модно) on famous figures is that their behavior is so influential while at the same time the media have little guarantee to ensure what the say and do will not mislead (вводить в заблуждение) the mass public and even cause more problems. For example, if a famous figure is being asked about his or her point of view in a field he or she is not quite acquainted, the words presented to the audience may be misleading. This is especially harmful to those young people who are more likely to watch those programs of their idols, and also are mostly vulnerable to influential but harmful sayings.

In a sense (В некотором смысле), I do not quite appreciate (понимаю) the coverage of people in the center of spotlight (в центре внимания), maybe once the mass media turn a little bit from their current focus to other aspects of the society, they may find out that the world is wonderful all the same.