Does Public Scrutiny Dissolve the “News” in News?

Let’s look at Al Gore who is again on the receiving end of criticism for taking a private jet to ponder this question. On the one hand, Gore has influenced the environmental debate arguably more than any elected politician this century (whose job it is to illustrate and react to such public issues). Al’s movie is far more successful than a similar attempt by Leonardo DiCaprio on the issue of global sustainability. If box office returns are any indication, Al has beaten a movie star in the movie business and started a flurry of spin offs. While an Inconvenient Truth serves as a environmental touchstone for many worldwide, his detractors are quick to point out he is still taking private jets and the political paparazzi are often there to catch it. Witness exhibit A below. This shot made the front page of the Drudge Report  recently with this in the body of the story  FOXNEWS host Sean Hannity is set to unleash the damning video this Sunday night, network sources reveal.

Al Gore has long been a person in the privileged class. He was Vice President of the United States which requires gas guzzling motorcades and a team of humans to mobilize every time he wants to visit a Dunkin’ Donuts. People knew this about him during his bid for the election and before purchasing, downloading, pirating or renting his jazzed up power point feature film. In short, his environmental transgressions are not “new”only slightly different depending on what jet he takes. Should this be covered with such consistency? On balance, has he contributed enough to the global warming debate enough to earn a collective pass? Are all iterations of slight hypocrisy worthy of coverage more than, say, the opinions of 2,100 CEOs as seen in the Q3 Vistage Confidence Index?  Or do you think he deserves the negative attention? Is he becoming the political Paris Hilton where every new ice cream cone ordered is a story? This blog is interactive. You tell us, spin or legitimate coverage? – Jason Damata