First, let me apologize for not posting anything the past few days. I know the tens of dozens of you that read this blog were probably wondering where I am. The answer, is home in Minnesota, where the Internet connection is about at strong as Chiefs chances of winning the Superbowl.

And so because of this, I’ve been out of the instant news world. I have, however, eaten some ridiculously good food and bundled up in numerous layers to stay in the chilly Minnesota winters.

However, I started reading up on what’s been going on and a strange trend caught my eye: EVERYTHING the Obamas do makes headlines. Obama tries to create millions of jobs. Obama gets ready for inauguration. Obama family visits Lincoln Memorial. Future first daughters enjoy their first school lunch. Michelle Obama to pick inauguration dress designer (and, gasp, it’s not Vera Wang!).

Really? I work in news, and I’m ashamed. I happen to really like the guy, but could care less what he does in his personal time. That tends to be my stance on all political and public figures and scandal (generally speaking). Barack was elected into office because of his political views, and while I can’t ignore the fact his family and private life do play into that, I don’t think it’s really any of our business.

I’m not entirely sure that knowing Sasha and Malia had spaghetti and meatballs on their first day of school really tells us anything except it was a really slow news day. But what bugs me the most is, shouldn’t journalists, especially in Washington D.C. have bigger and better stories to cover? Does informing the public what the future first kids ate and did in school really impact the masses? Will looking back on this story mean anything to us five, ten or twenty years down the road? I think it will show how celebrity obsessed our society has become. It proves the Obamas are fairly normal in a very elite world, but it’s Barack that’s put himself in the spotlight, his daughters didn’t really have a choice.

Media scrutiny is just wrong. Let’s not forget, Sasha and Malia are young. They’re going to be growing up in the spotlight and they’re doing it during those awkward tween years. Chelsea Clinton did it, and yes, she appears to have gotten over it, but that doesn’t make it okay. The media is much more invasive and cruel now than it was during the Clinton administration.

I’m not sure what the solution is, or if I alone can create one. However, it’s important for the public to figure out why certain stories are important to them. The media needs to digress to its roots and start covering stories that are important and should or need to be covered, instead of the easy and superficial happenings of celebrities or public figures.

Perhaps JibJab sums it up best: “The world is greatly impacted by the stories that you choose.” So it’s up to all of us to choose correctly.