Oh, come'on, guys! Has AVB touted actual friends who work in the media... like, ever? As far as I recall, he hasn't. I agree with his general point that the coverage of celebrities by the press is over-the-top. I mean, how else could one possibly explain the popularity of the vapid Kardashian clan? My attitude is: why does anyone care about famous people whose lives don't impact them? People have always placed too much emphasis on celebrities, whether it be sports figures, Hollywood stars, musicians, etc. But, it's not relegated to a liberal media or even to the U.S. media. You should see the way they cover Bollywood stars in India... or the obsession in the London press ever since Prince Harry got engaged (later married) to Meghan Markle. Celebrity gossip is a human, global phenomena --- I just happen to think it's damn silly. In this case, it was also tasteless, because it took so long to even cover the OTHER people on the flight - making it seem like their deaths didn't even matter. Poorly handled.
Too funny! I was actually logging on to post about exactly this situation. For those too busy to google, Felicia is a political reporter for the Washington Post (and apparently a survivor of a sexual attack at one point in her past). After Kobe's death, with the fawning coverage, she sent out a tweet that linked to coverage about Kobe's own very mixed past (as you probably recall, accused of a sexual assault, Kobe first said it was consensual, then settled out of court along with a public apology for his actions that day, saying he could understand how she could have seen his actions differently than he did).
“Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality,” she tweeted Sunday, “even if that public figure is beloved and that totality unsettling.” Seems fair enough, right? I mean, after all, it was fact-based. Well, the Washington Post SUSPENDED her... it has caused an uproar in the WP newsroom and on social media, etc.