If there really is truth within speculation, it's safe to say that if it weren't for Inside Edition, A Current Affair, and The Enquirer, TMZ would be dubbed second-rate tabloid fodder. It's a mad, mad, world to say the least, with current and former entertainment correspondents now taking center stage as major news reporters and anchors. Hell, former entertainment correspondent Jim Moret now turns up on the airwaves as a legal analyst. Sure, Moret IS a lawyer, but not all of us have forgotten the '90s. Wasn't CNN's Brian Todd an entertainment reporter, too? If you remember watching the first season of ABC's former reality show The Mole, there's all the proof you need. Although we have to cut Anderson Cooper some slack since he's actually grown into an impressive reporter and news anchor.

Just how far has the scope of news and entertainment changed since 2001? Well, Harvey Levin of TMZ sometimes fills in for Larry King. Yeah, Larry King... on CNN, the "#1" news network. For a deeper look at how far things have changed in less than a decade, check out this recent news story from January 8 about the so-called truth behind the strange behavior of Britney Spears. You be the judge, but ask yourself where the truth really exists. Like I mentioned, there's no denying the modern news era is entertaining. There was a time when writing a story like this would be considered nothing more than an obvious waste of time, effort, brain-space, and potential advertising space.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bitchfest on "the better days of a bygone era". Change is good, and it's the only constant in life other than the fact that we're all going to expire like your subscription to People or that half-empty milk container in your fridge. Given how news and entertainment have almost become one in the same within a new reality TV fuelled social network generation, finding the truth within news is now, more than ever, an even greater responsibility of the viewer and reader. Who can you really trust for accurate and reliable news? In two words... no one. You're the judge. It's up to you to decipher the truth and gather the facts of the message despite the many messengers. What does it all mean? Well, for a lot of people it means that the perception of the truth might be more important than hard facts and evidence as long as what they see and read is of decent entertainment value and captures attention. You don't need to take my irrelevant word for it. There are a ton of stories you can find online as examples on how far news coverage and reporting has devolved in favor of sensationalism and headline-grabbing "infotainment". Did political analysts James Carvell and Paul Begala really leave CNN to help turn around Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign? I'll leave it up to you to decipher. The truth is in there somewhere.

Where is all of this headed? The answer can probably be found in the question of how many news hounds are taking half-baked, entertainment veiled news stories as fact without asking questions. Is Britney Spears REALLY on the verge of a meltdown? Did basketball star Tony Parker REALLY have an affair? Is the public's lust for entertainment doing more harm than good? On January 19, even Access Hollywood posed the question of whether the paparazzi is making things worse for Britney Spears. No, you don't say! Like I said, today's modern news game is a fun community to be a part of. That is until someone gets hurt. What's next, The Associated Press reports on UFO's in Texas? As for the hard facts and evidence within the new age of news coverage, well, that's often a completely different story. Still, it's up to you to be the judge.