Riding Coat tails

Ok. It's been a while now. I think I've served my penance. Showed remarkable self-restraint. Only mentioned it when Libby used his get out of jail free card.

But I can't hold it any longer. Not when I read stories like this one.

And I wrote about this at the time but I really can't believe that it's still doing the rounds:

NEW YORK - A lighter and paper shredder helped make Mika Brzezinski the symbol of television journalism's guilt trip about Paris Hilton.

Brzezinski used both to destroy a script calling for her to read about Hilton's release from jail on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program recently. Part serious, part an act, it has become an Internet sensation. More than 2 million people have watched a clip of the incident, around 10 times the number who watched it live on TV.

Apparently, she's not the only one sick of the socialite.

"Among journalists it touched a nerve because I think we're tired of pretending this is important," she said. "We also know that, deep down inside, our viewers know that we don't believe this is news. They can't. They can't think we're that dumb."

Far be it from me, but so many people watched the clip of this because they don't like watching stuff about Paris Hilton? Is that it?

"I hate everything to do with Paris, she so isn't news, they should concentrate on something more worthy. Now, excuse me while I watch this video of a news anchor attempting to ridicule her."

Oh no. That would be silly. This Brzenski is the news precisely because Paris Hilton is news.

So what do we have? A good self publicist:

She attracted the world's attention. Brzezinski's gotten over a thousand e-mails, and was named "woman of the week" by a British Web site. She's been invited to address a media symposium in Scotland. The New Zealand Herald hailed her: "Deliberate or not, there is no denying the incident struck a chord with viewers the world over. When it comes to Paris, we've all had enough."

It may be a coincidence [pigs may be flying], but three days after the incident MSNBC told Brzezinski that she'll have a regular hour to anchor the news each morning.

And I've got to say a word about this:

Television ratings aren't the only proof that reporting on Hilton is like eating junk food — you know it's bad for you, but you do it anyway.

How's that work? There was no mention anywhere in the article of it "bad for you". And surely the word "proof" here is ridiculous.

Or am I going over the top.

Should I reimpose my ban on posting about Paris?

Probably