Just A Tad Bit More Important

Lately I've been writing about the impact the news has on people and also the relevance with which we prioritize news stories.
Take for instance Brad Pitt. I clicked on a story about him, thinking it would solve my curiosity concerning his recent break-up with Jennifer Aniston (my favorite Friend ever). Instead it was about his interview with Diane Sawyer sometime this week. In the synopsis of the interview Brad talked about his recent trip to Africa and the devastation he saw.
This to me, is more newsworthy than the private emotional "hell" he must be going thru because of his divorce. I wonder why we don't see news stories like this.
When I wrote for the Daily Athenaeum at West Virginia University, I was in charge of the student body/council beat. People were always asking me to write about the things they weren't getting done, the promises they didn't keep and whether or not they were actually a "real" entity in the student force. I instead chose to write about what kind of impact these students made--the volunteer work they did, the charities they helped to run and the students they reached out to. My stories were not met with that much enthusiasm, but I had an understanding editor who chose to print them none-the-less. I don't know if I reached anyone--or changed anyone's opinion about the student Board of Governors, but at least I printed a "truth" that was usually buried beneath a more "exciting" story.