Former Freeman reporter Kate Heidecker stopped in the office this afternoon and chided me, good-naturedly, about the fact that I hadn't written anything about Paris Hilton since the spoiled brat heiress was sent back to jail last week.
I suppose that's because I, unlike the cable TV news outlets that can't go 15 minutes without talking about this story, understand there's nothing new to report. The judge resentenced her, she cried out for her mommy, and she went back to the pokey. That was Friday. Today is Tuesday. Has anything changed in the past four days? OK, there was that statement she released from jail on Saturday, saying she wouldn't appeal her sentence (how big of you, Paris!); but nothing else is new.
She was in jail on Friday. She was in jail on Saturday. She was in jail on Sunday. She was in jail on Monday. She's in jail today. Does the media need to keep reporting (I mean repeating) this? Do shows like "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight" think they're fooling us into believing there are new developments simply because they show a reporter standing outside the jail every evening? Does CNN'er Nancy Grace, who I'm embarrassed to call a fellow journalist, think that keeping the phrase "Breaking Developments" on the screen will trick us into believing her reporting is anything more than rehash?
Enough already. Paris is in jail. She'll be there for another two weeks or so. We don't need to be reminded every day.
And I certainly don't need to write another word about her.
So there you go, Kate. I've written the follow-up that you've been looking for. Now I'm done with this subject. I only can hope the rest of the media will follow my lead.