Anna Nicole Smith’s death last Thursday definitely came as a shock, but perhaps even a greater shock was the obscene amount of media coverage that ensued after her death.
Every major news network immediately began relaying the breaking news of her death to the public. Clips of her body being wheeled out of the Florida hotel room where she died and old photographs were plastered across television screens – for days. Her death has been shamelessly reported from every imaginable news angle.
The stories began as unnecessary, but justifiable, news of the details and questions surrounding her death. Controversy over who would have custody of her 5-month-old daughter, the mystery over the death of her son last year, and a look back at her bizarre life also dominated the media coverage.
The stories have been on an increasingly ridiculous downward spiral since then, attempting to keep the story as up-to-the-minute as possible. Reports have been made on everything from how fans are “grieving” her death, to photographs of what was in Smith’s fridge the day she died (Slim-Fast, yogurt and butter), to analyzing the reporting of her death.
Even more ridiculous than the stories is the fact that the major news networks have spent so much time covering the death of Smith in the first place. When did the death of a celebrity become news?
On a day when deadly windstorms brought destruction to Florida, 11 men were killed in Iraq and the federal budget was presented to Congress, the media was focused on Anna Nicole Smith. Details of her death took over the main screen and the ticker running across the bottom of the television screen.
Coverage of Smith’s death could be deemed justifiable if she was the influential public figure the media is portraying her as, but let’s face it – she was famous only for being famous. News organizations conformed to the public’s obsession with celebrities.
The former Playboy playmate’s celebrity status grew after the death of her oil-tycoon husband, who was 63 years her senior. She went all the way to the Supreme Court fighting to win his fortune, had a reality TV series on E! that followed her antics, and most recently became the spokesperson for TrimSpa, which reportedly helped her lose more than 70 pounds.
Smith’s behavior in the spotlight has been strange throughout the years; loopy interviews and peculiar behavior, especially on “The Anna Nicole Show,” alluded to drug use, and the media seemed to make mockery of her.
Since her death, news outlets have been making memorial segments of Smith as if they are going to miss her presence. At the risk of sounding callous, I think it’s safe to say that, while she may be missed by those closest to her, she will not be missed by the entertainment industry.
Smith’s death should have been left to the job of tabloid and entertainment industries, like “E! News” and “The Insider,” who, I should mention, are also having a field day with her death.
Samantha Freitas is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily staff writer.