January 17, 2014--15 Seconds of Fame

Everything-is-speeding-up.

From Andy Warhol's brilliant perception that the new media age will assure each of us 15 minutes of fame, we are now seeing evidence that that 15 minutes has shrunk to 15 seconds.

Case in point is work-product of the company, NowThis News, recently acquired by NBC's news division.

They specialize in producing news clips that run for 10, 15, and 30 seconds. So, last week, they produced a 30-second micro-documentary about "Chris Christie's Least Presidential Moments" and another one--my favorite--a 15-second clip that "summarized" the life and times of former prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday.

Fifteen seconds for someone who lived an over-full like stretches even my cynical notion about the limits of young Americans' shrinking attention spans.

And shame on NBC, the network of Huntley-Brinkley, for pandering to this want-to-know-nothing generation, for whom 15 seconds is about as long as they can sit still.

I know, I know, I'm sounding like and old-codger.

 Guilty as charged!

But-I-need-to-stop-since-I-used-up-my-175-word-limit.