A Definition of "News"

I imagine by now you've all heard about the "hoax" of the balloon boy. If not, here's a link, but please don't spend too much time reading it; we've got other matters to attend to. Balloon Boy

The storyline is quite weird. Actually, more than weird, it's bizarre and tragic and pathetic. In order to avoid delving more deeply into the ridiculous tale, I'm going to take a moment to define the word "news." CNN, Fox, CNBC, etc: this definition is especially for you because I think somewhere along the line you've gotten a bit misdirected. But, it's not totally your fault. Obsessive coverage of non-news news takes a team effort, and I know that the public's interest in strange stories highly influences what gets the majority of air time.

News: a person, thing, or event considered as a choice subject for journalistic treatment; newsworthy material

Sadly, there is a lot of non-news out there for public consumption.

But there's a lot of real-news out there, too!

And here's your chance to highlight a story you feel is deserving of attention. Please post a link as a comment that leads to a news story you'd like the rest of us to be aware of.

Here's mine: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113835383

Please take a quick moment to share a link to a local or global news story that matters to you.