It's all about ME

So the San Diego's UT headline covering the shocking air crash that killed the Polish Prime minister and most of his cabinet was typically provincial: "Obama calls Polish prime minister after crash." Personally, I'd have thought the death of the leader of one of the world's nations would have warranted a major announcement all on its own. But I guess the important part is not that the guy died and that there's probably going to be tremendous upheaval as a result of it, but rather that Obama took time from his busy day to send his condolences.

Don't get me wrong, mind you: I'm happy that Obama remembers the niceties. But still, shouldn't the headline read something instead like, "POLISH PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET KILLED IN PLANE CRASH"? You know, something that sort of signals a proper alignment of the priorities in a major story, perhaps with a small mention of Obama's phone call somewhere at the end--mid-story at best?

The myopic and self-centered perspective insisted on by our local news reporters is such an embarrassment. It's the equivalent of having the friend of your child tell you his parents were killed in a car accident, and all you can think about is,"Oh, I better add 'send sympathy card' to my to-do list!" The assumption is that the dumb readers of the UT care only about their own tiny little world, here in comfy San Diego. And if it's outside the U.S. altogether, it might as well not exist.

ADDENDUM: since my writing this post, the UT has changed its headline, which now reads, "Chicago artist among dead in Polish plane crash." It still doesn't quite get the POINT of the event, but it's a bit better than the original. They must have had complaints.

Either that or I'm a heck of a lot more influential than I think I am. Har!