Did you hear? Anna Nicole Smith is dead. This might be news to some of you. Actually, it probably isn't news to anyone in the world. The news media has once again focused on something that is of no significance to anything.

Let's face it. National media outlets think we are stupid and continues to prove this by filling the headlines with unimportant trash.

I feel very bad for Anna Nicole and her family, but is it really necessary to obsess over this woman's death? The deaths of presidents don't get this much attention. This whole debacle really shows where our media stands. Broadcast, cable, newspapers and Internet -- you name it and Anna Nicole's death has probably headlined it more than once in the past couple of weeks.

I'll admit, when it first happened I was surprised. But after day two, I think we all got it -- she is, certifiably, dead. The whole situation has turned into nothing more than a circus. The tally of men claiming to have fathered her daughter is reaching into uncountable numbers. In my opinion, the child is really the only thing that should be of any matter in this issue. Children are too innocent to be subjected to this unnecessary, insignificant garbage. By now, everyone involved has gotten their 15 minutes of fame and needs to think about the child while allowing Anna Nicole to rest in peace.

And while we are on the topic of undeserving headlines, there is someone else who deserves at least an honorary mention -- Britney Spears.

Thank goodness Britney Spears shaved her head and saved the media. Now we all have something of significance to talk about. Does anyone actually feel sorry for people like Ms. Spears? I hate to sound insensitive because she is clearly a disturbed and morally desolate human being, but I really don't see how her shaving her head deserves a headline. I get my haircut all the time and I don't get on the news. Once again, the only parties in the matter who deserve any sympathy are the innocent children.

As an aspiring journalist, I hope that I am not subjected to having to report some of this stuff.

The headlines of the past couple of months have been really absurd. Aren't we fighting a war in Iraq? Aren't people dying of terrible diseases all over the world every single day?

The once respected media are beginning to resemble a checkout line at the grocery story. I enjoy watching the news (I know, it sounds kind of paradoxical), but I do not enjoy watching tabloids. At one time, tabloids simply existed only to amuse those waiting to pay for their groceries. No one actually takes them seriously, do they? If respected media outlets such as CNN and Fox News continue to air trash like the Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears stories, the line between tabloid and news will become increasingly blurred.

Celebrity news and gossip belongs on television shows and in magazines that specifically deal with this stuff. And there are plenty of them. Major news outlets should be airing real news that matters. It's one thing to honor the achievements of celebrities through shows such as the Grammy's or the Oscars. It is something completely different for the media to pry into their personal lives and pass it onto us, the unassuming public, as real news.

To top it all off, those making the headlines aren't really even celebrities. Anna Nicole Smith was basically a paparazzi magnet and nothing more. What did she do? Sure, she posed for Playboy and had a television show that no one watched. I really don't think she had much talent, but the media will attempt to tell you different. She is proof that you don't really need any talent to be famous.

And how about Britney Spears? What is there really to say about a has-been pop star? She destroyed her own career, as most pop stars do. She was out of the spotlight for a minute, so she pulled a ridiculous stunt. I guess the joke is on us because the media stunt worked brilliantly. She was catapulted back into the spotlight.

My basic point here is that the media is completely out of touch with what is important in this country. I used to believe that it was we who were at fault for watching and increasing ratings.

Then I began to wonder how anyone can actually watch this trash with enjoyment. I came to the conclusion that they can't. Respected news outlets need to stop treating us like we are stupid by feeding us over-hyped Hollywood garbage.

Give us real news; I think we deserve the respect.