Today marks the first anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.

We should all take a moment to examine the role the media has taken in the past year, as well as the role it is taking now.

It seems as if the major news outlets are using the commemoration as a tool to sell more newspapers.

Princess Diana died only a year ago, but the media frenzy that surrounded the tragedy continued unabated for months.

In fact, it seems as though we never really were allowed to forget the tragedy for any length of time.

Almost every day there was some newspaper headline covering a different angle of the event.

Each new article, book or news story compelled the evening news to respond with even more “in-depth” examinations in an endless cycle of exploitation and recrimination.

With the constant flood of stories concerning her life, it was almost as if her funeral lasted for several months.

Even the death of Mother Teresa, who had a profound impact on thousands of people’s lives, went virtually unnoticed.

Now, months later, it seems as if the constant spotlight which robbed Princess Diana of her dignity in life will continue to do so long after her death.

Instead of allowing the spectacle of Princess Diana and her companion’s untimely deaths to fade from memory and their souls to rest in peace, the media has continued to focus on their lives.

In order to fill all the hours of the day with more video clips, stories and new theories, the news media digs deeper every day.

Every personal detail of her life that is exposed for our inspection only serves to tarnish our memory of her.

Princess Diana did great work, and she is worth commemorating.

Even her faults, which seemed to make her more human, cannot detract from that.

However, we should realize that there is nothing to be gained from sensationalizing her death in the same manner as her life.

After a year, is it not finally time to give her the rest she deserves?

We can and should focus on other issues.

Certainly, she would have wanted it that way.