Domestic Abuse and Infotainment

Enough about Chris Brown and Rihanna, already. I’m sick and tired of hearing about this story. It’s inescapable. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has their own analysis. Everyone has turned into a domestic relations counselor.
Why is this even news? Why does everyone care? Aren’t there more pressing matters to discuss?
How is Chris Brown even famous? I had never heard of him before he beat up Rihanna. I had vague familiarity with Rihanna only because the radio stations play her songs on loop to the point of repetitive annoyance.
This is obviously a horrible situation I would never wish on anyone, but certainly I think there is a line to draw between reporting celebrity "news" and obsession. We were (and are) obsessed with the OctoMo and we are obsessed with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Jennifer Anniston.
This is part of the new phenomenon of selling "infotainment"; information that is packaged along with entertainment. The "news" we are receiving is becoming more and more infotainment (with a decreasing amount of information and an increasing amount of entertainment).
There has been some lively debate since the news broke on February 8th about the events that transgressed that evening between Rihanna and Brown. Should she take him back? Who was the mystery woman involved that started the fight? Should Brown be removed from Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards? Should both of their sponsorships/endorsements be pulled because Brown attacked Rihanna and because Rihanna took Brown back?
Who cares? I am tired of being bombarded with this story. Rihanna and Brown are this generations Whitney/Bobby, Ike/Tina. I guess we feel that we need all the information on this story because to us, it’s juicy gossip. Like a car accident or train wreck, we can’t help but look. Because most of us want to know everything we can about the story, the paparazzi has went to such lengths as to even find and release the photos of a battered Rihanna that being used for the criminal investigation. That’s pretty low, even by paparazzi standards.
I still can’t wrap my head around why this is a news story worthy of all the pandemonium it has been given. Granted, I know that Rihanna and Brown are celebrities, but this amount of media attention is too much in my opinion. The story is everywhere and inescapable.
So because Rihanna is a celebrity, any right to privacy she might have had was immediately disregarded. Most journalists refuse to name victims of sexual abuse and domestic abuse in their reporting. I guess one positive is that because Rihanna has celebrity, it can help to put a face on domestic abuse and provide a role model for other women if she decides to separate from her attacker.
The same invasive reporting would not be done with a domestic abuse victim sans the celebrity of Rihanna. Rihanna has received "special treatment" which I’m fairly sure she (a) does not appreciate and (b) does not want.
Domestic abuse is a horrible thing. I feel bad for Rihanna for being the victim of such abuse and shun those who blaming her for taking him back; that is essentially blaming the victim. There are just too many factors to consider in her decision. And besides that, it’s none of our business anyways. This is largely a private matter that has been thrust in front of the eyes of the world.