The Eye of the Sauron was supposed to be the most evil being on Middle Earth. Few could endure it. Those who could lost their minds and their will to live. We do not really have an exact equivalent of The Eye in the real world, but the media is the closest thing possible. Anything "The Media" lays its gaze upon finds itself in deep $#it. The power of The Media is infinite. It can change people's destinies,bring down governments and usher in revolutions that can change the course of mankind.

We have been witnessing that power, and the mockery made of it, for the past few months now.

It all started with the elections in Iran and the utter joke that was made of democracy in that country. The media,which was present in large numbers in Iran,was very enthusiastic in reporting the first few days of the retaliation. These few days - the seas of green it showed - were enough to trigger an international show of support for the Iranians. The animosity towards Iran soon turned into sympathy and people began to learn that Iranians are so much similar to those anywhere else in the world! #iranelection became the most popular hashtag on Twitter and the outpouring of tweets loaded with emotions and support for the Iranians seemed to have no end. People here in the US created multiple proxies which allowed the Iranians to blog and post pictures and videos even while the Iranian caliphate was vying for their blood.

Then arrived the news of Michael Jackson's death. The "Eye of Sauron" turned from Tehran to the Neverland Ranch. Stories about dying Nedas and beaten protestors took a backseat, and speculations of how Jackson may have been extra-drugged and reports of hordes of fans camping outside the Ranch enduring the absence of toilets became rife. In no time, the world forgot what was happening in Iran.

Ayatollah Khameini and Ahmedinejad must have probably looked at Jackson's death as a blessing. #iranelection had paved way to "Michael Jackson" as the trending topic. In Iran, the government got more violent and successfully clamped down on protestors, Ahmedinejad gave a public address patting himself on the back and thousands of arrested protesters continued to be tortured in the prisons. With the collapse of the moral and the infrastructural support from the western public, whatever remained of the online resistance came down rapidly.

Soon the media was onto something more interesting (or maybe not!). Sarah Palin! Her bummer of a resignation statement on the eve of the Independence Day was enough to get the speculators excited. Why is she doing it? 2012 presidential run? Lawsuits? Money problems? Moral issues? FBI investigations? Some of the speculators went berserk with wild theories.

Then the pundits had a field day in analysing Obama's visit to Russia. Why didnt the Russians praise Michelle's dress, as everyone does? Why werent the Russians wowed by Obama's charm, as everyone is? Why wasnt Obama able to draw huge crowds in Russia, as they turn up everywhere else he goes? One headline went to the extent of stating "Obama girls take Russia by storm" when the contents of the news spoke about how they looked around the Kremlin and how the younger one was excited about seeing Russia.

One might argue that the media has been dutifully reporting incidents like the Uyghur uprising in China, the protestors march in Iran, the killing of militants in Pakistan and so on. Yes it has, which is good, but the proportion is disproportionately low. As a proof, just scroll down all the way to the bottom of this page and take a look at the "Newsmap" on the right hand sidebar.

It needs to be noted that in these 2 months, the world has changed dramatically.
It is foolish to suggest that if Michael Jackson had not died, the Iranian resistance would have swelled into a revolution,displaced the Islamic rulers and changed the world order. It is also pointless to say that the media should not report these news. It just needs to be remembered though that we need to be sensitive to whats happening in the world, and know what constitutes real news.
Ultimately, the media churns out only the things that the consumers want. Once WE realise whats important and not let go of the focus, we can ALSO make the media not loose focus...And keep the "Eye of the Sauron" looking intently at what can potentially change the world.