Honestly ask yourself, what was more tragic: The deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr., and Carolyn and Lauren Bessette, or the shameless media circus that surrounded it?

If only by relation, JFK Jr. was certainly a celebrity, and his tragic death was certainly newsworthy.

But it is difficult to justify the nearly 12 hours of coverage several networks gave the crash.

It was not a story that was slowly unfolding. New information was not constantly flowing in.

The plane disappeared and based on a few retrieved pieces of wreckage, it’s almost certain it crashed in the water off of Martha’s Vineyard.

That’s about all that was known Saturday afternoon, and about all that is known now.

There wasn’t much to this story.

A famous person crashed a plane into the water.

So why did it take an entire day of coverage to get that message out?

The answer is that JFK Jr.’s death is just the latest example of the rampant sensationalism in American journalism.

Every day the lines between news and entertainment are blurred more and more in this country.

Apparently, last Saturday, JFK Jr.’s crash could produce higher ratings than the bland summer programming the networks had planned.

Would anyone have pre-empted the Super Bowl for coverage? No, they wouldn’t have. And when higher ratings supersede the responsibility to inform, we must question the validity of our news agencies.

After the exhaustive coverage, a good number of Americans will be able to tell you every detail about JFK Jr.’s plane, his flying experience and exactly what type of wreckage had been found.

But how many of these people know anything about the difficulties many low-income people face in finding health care?

When our news agencies exploit celebrity tragedies and fail to report on basic issues of human rights, they fail to be a service to the people.