MyMediaFeed

Internet news sites were covering Obama’s recent trip to the G-8 summit in Italy last week, but probably gave more attention to a photograph that made it appear that he was “checking out” a junior delegate. Initial reports suggested that Obama joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy in admiring the curves of the sixteen year old Mayora Tavares. Many more mainstream news sources, however, were quick to defend the president by pointing out that the photo caught him as he was spinning around to help somebody else down a set of stairs.

For a brief discussion on the issue, see the following video:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why do you think that some media sources believed this was an important story to cover?

2.  Does the media have an obligation to cover more serious news?  What does this story say about the nature of media consumption in the modern era?

3.  Why do you think this story was covered more on the internet than by traditional television media?