Why Do I Know SuBo?

If I'm sitting in my living room in New Zealand and 3 News is regularly broadcasting reports on a certain reality talent show contestant, then yes, Britain has incredible talent in the field of spreading rubbish to news agencies.

How did this Susan Boyle mania all start? I understand that a clip of her singing has had trillions of views on YouTube. Is this news? Yes, I concede that this is passable as news. A cultural media phenomenon has occurred, in the form of a video clip that has spread like wild fire across the globe.

As perplexing as I find it that the entire world seems to enjoy watching said clip, the magnitude of this particular internet sensation is legitimate news.

But when I hear Alistair Wilkinson tell me that Lily Allen thinks Susan Boyle is "overrated" during the news then something has gone wrong. But this never-ending news coverage isn't just annoying me, it now seems to have got the better of SuBo herself.

On Monday evening I watched a report (on the news) that stated Susan Boyle had been admitted to a ‘celebrity' rehabilitation clinic for "exhaustion". I found it very interesting that police did not state the identity of the admitted patient, we were just going by the word of British journalists. No doubt the same British journalists who have followed Susan Boyle every minute of every day since she opened her distinctively British mouth on the stage of that talent show.

I also found it interesting that during the report on SuBo's fragile state, allusions were made to Susan going down the same road as other celebrity meltdowns such as Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse.

It was as if the report was lamenting the terrible toll fame can take on people who aren't ready for it.

Well here's an idea... Stop making them famous! I understand this is the way the British news media (and I use the word ‘news' in its loosest possible sense) works, but please have the decency to take a step back when the constant harassment pushes a person over the edge. Shamefully it seems that this is the exact time that the British press takes a huge lunge forward. I just wish New Zealand's news organisations wouldn't make the same mistake, and enlarge the problem.

And now we reach the ‘vicious circle' argument. It's all good and well for us to point our finger at the news and tell them how terrible they are for continuously reporting on an unattractive woman with a great voice to the point where this woman is hospitalised, but really we have no foot to stand on.

We were the ones who watched SuBo's clip on YouTube en masse. We were the ones that clicked on any link associated with SuBo to make it 3 News' most viewed story. And we'll be the ones tuning in to check on her recovery or decline.

So do me a favour New Zealand. The next time a forwarded clip from a reality talent show makes it into your inbox, DON'T WATCH IT. I don't care how ugly the contestant is, or how amazing their voice is, don't watch it.

If you really need your fix of ‘unattractive person with surprisingly good voice' viewing, can you just watch Dave Dobbyn's clip for ‘Loyal' instead?