On the morning of January 23rd 2014, I was meant to roll out of bed, still drowsy and half awake, log onto my laptop and proceed to cnn.com and be confronted with the crisis that was unfolding in Ukraine. I should have sat there staring in slight disbelief at the news that two protesters had died, being hit by live ammunition fired in a conflict between police and protesters. My mind should have drifted to the significance that was the first deaths associated with the protests in Ukraine, and I should have been imagining the political and international sh*t-storm that was about to begin. Instead CNN screamed “Justin Bieber Arrested“!

This is just one of the many example of human lives, martyred and sacrificed for unwavering belief, being trumped in the media by celebrity news. For some reason western society prefers to know the intimate and personal details of our cultural idols rather than a national uprising occurring in a another country. From our early years of schooling we are conditioned to believe that as dominant global powers we are the center of the universe and that all else that happens around us is insignificant in comparison.

News outlets such as CNN are both our masters and our pets. To an extent we control the news that is popular and headlined, though at the same time their choice of what they promote greatly influences what we perceive to be important. News outlets have to stop focusing on particular individuals whose circumstances are magnified due to their cultural popularity, and instead report news that actually effects people. The news must raise awareness on topics that actually matter to the world, and not just serve to satisfy our obsession with celebrities.