I need to see, I gotta know!

The story of Lot and his wife leaving Sodom is the subject of the first reading for Mass today. Such an interesting story of God sparing Lot and his family for their righteousness but then telling them to NOT look back as they leave the city. Every time I read that story there is a little part of me that hopes Lot's wife will make a better choice and be spared but, of course, that never happens. She looks back and is instantly turned into a pillar of salt. How sad.
The question I have to ask myself is this - would I be any different? I think I would be greatly tempted to look back and I'll bet you would, too. Our culture is one of the most invasive, newshound, gossip-seeking and "dirty laundry" cultures ever. We want to see into everyone's life - especially if they are famous and see what's going on. Is their marriage failing? Were they arrested? Are they back on drugs? What about their kids?
In my humble opinion, 24-hour news is the worst thing that ever happened to GOOD news reporting. Now there are many competing TV stations that have to fill all of that time with some kind of "news". Things that NEVER would have made the 30 or 60 minute news program of old are now front and center on CNN, MSNBC and FOX. The type of reporting that is done is most often geared to raising emotional responses rather than on giving an unbiased account. Don Henley had it right in his 1982 song "Dirty Laundry" when he quotes the newsman saying "I could have been an actor, but I wound up here". The reporting is mostly about drama and very little about substance. These networks are all vying for high ratings so that they can attract more advertisers and charge more for each ad.
So, what do we do about it? QUIT WATCHING! I stopped watching TV news fifteen years ago and I don't miss it a bit. I get the little news I need from the internet and the radio. Reading it on a website leaves almost all of the hype out and I am free to assess the stories and research them on my own. Give it a try, give up the dirty laundry before you (your soul) turns into a salt pillar.