American Idol: Is Ryan Seacrest the Most Trusted Man in America?

[Wolfman]

American Idol: Is Ryan Seacrest the Most Trusted Man in America?
Commentary by Nickie S.
January 17, 2007
Idol is back again folks. That's right! We're in the year 2007 and for those people who have been "Idol" starved Tuesday, January 16, 2007 could not come fast enough.

Why is that? With the wealth of reality television offered to us nowadays surely there is enough escapist programming to satisfy our need to follow the lives of other people. For "Idol" purists perhaps it's simply because we've been suffering this musical drought since September of last year (for those Canadian purists). Or perhaps it's because I have an unsubstantiated report that Ryan Seacrest, the beloved host of American Idol, was recently voted the most trusted man in America.

That's right. Ryan is apparently the most trusted man in America, according to one of my local Edmonton (for my southern neighbors Edmonton is a city in Alberta, Canada) radio stations. And for those of you who are currently gasping for air at the thought, remember that he was awarded a star on the prized Walk of Fame in April of 2005. (And we all know that many in the world gasped at that one.)

For argument's sake, let's say this is true. My source, one of the pure hunters and gatherers of the world, heard it this morning and automatically believed it to be true. However he was incredulous at the thought. So much so that when I switched the channel to watch my beloved Idol program this evening he immediately began to argue over the thought.

Most Trusted Man In America?
Walter Cronkite, one of the world's great journalists, has apparently held that title for ever. And why shouldn't he? Every evening Americans turned on their televisions to hear him deliver the daily news and world current events. Good news or bad, the public wanted his take on the news; his views on world happenings. Simply because they trusted his integrity, his honesty and believed he was knowledgeable. And during his heyday some of the world's greatest historical events occurred.

Now apparently Ryan Seacrest is taking over the mantle. Beloved baby-faced Ryan who may be a radio host extraordinaire. Of whom most people had never heard before American Idol. Who now has a burgeoning career because of American Idol. Seemingly now the most trusted man in America.

If this is true then how can that be? Ryan isn't a journalist. And the world can't be more troubled than it is now. Locally we deal with murders in many cities on a daily basis. And if our local news isn't terrifying enough then world events frighten us even more. Our shrinking world and onset of globalism mean that deadly diseases, terrorism, car bombs and sudden dramatic climate changes are closer than ever. Now that we have the ability to travel we want to know what is going on around the globe. It's as important as what happened downtown.

But Ryan doesn't apprise us of this information. Instead we see him on the Today Show and Entertainment Tonight, talking about celebrities and espousing the upcoming season of Idol. Then during the "Idol" season, we see him calming contestants, stirring up the judges and playing practical jokes. We hear voice overs and watch him frequently make a fool of himself. So again I ask, how could anyone make him the most trusted man in America?

Actually it's easy. We are in the new century. During Walter Cronkite's heyday it wasn't easy to be quickly informed of matters concerning the rest of the world. We were hermits, living in our own little bubbles. We heard about Presidential assassinations and the odd typhoon if we were lucky. Now we have digital and satellite television. One thousand television stations from every country in the world. CNN with immediate reports of the Gulf War. We watched the choosing of the latest Pope. We have the internet. We can read the papers from whichever country we choose. Images that are banned from television stations due to their outrageous content are readily available on our computers. In other words, we are in deadly information overload.

So what does Ryan Seacrest offer us? Ryan is cute (I think so) and baby faced and comes across as open and honest with a cheeky sense of humor. I'm sure young girls dream about him and young men wish they were him. He travels the country with American Idol meeting people from all walks of life yet he treats them equally, respectfully and honestly. And we, the viewing public, are eating it up. The show itself represents our dreams of being musical stars. In lieu of we are willing critics. We look forward to having the opportunity to escape. And in a show of yearly changing cast members Ryan is our constant. In a show of ever constant format changes, Ryan is our constant.

I'm watching the first episode. Jules is a guest judge. They're in Minneapolis, a new city for American Idol. They have a red set as opposed to a blue one. Yet Ryan is always there. He's encouraging the contestants, he's telling us what's going on and as always, he's simply taking us on another journey. We trust him because we want to.

I don't know if he's officially the most trusted man in America. But I'm not going to laugh at the thought. This is a new world and these are new times. Perhaps we want to trust in someone who can encourage dreams. Perhaps we want to escape from the thought that what is happening overseas could end up making news in our backyard. Or perhaps we don't want to think at all.

American Idol is back. And over the next five or so months Ryan Seacrest will tell the story. So let's sit back and enjoy.