Keller @ Large: Protests With No Purpose

BOSTON (CBS) - There's been a ton of hand-wringing and soul-searching within the media universe over the way "we" covered this election, whatever "we" means in an information universe that now ranges from the New York Times and the national TV networks all the way down to some guy on a bus throwing out a Tweetstorm.

And this is not surprising, since the thing "we" in the media seem to love best is hand-wringing, soul-searching, and talking about ourselves.

But at the risk of distracting from the pity party, I have a constructive suggestion – why don't we all commit to being a little more careful about devoting excess media attention to irrelevant political statements?

I'm all for protest, it's our right and an essential part of our political process. And when thousands of people show up in the streets, it's worth noting.

But while college-kid marches before the election would be newsworthy as a sign of young-voter backlash, protests during the transition – before the new president even has a chance to mess up – are superfluous.

And if a few college professors want to sneak in a day off under the guise of cancelling class to let their traumatized students heal, that's fine, but it's not news.

Ditto for apparently well-heeled folks who choose to burn their expensive sneakers.

Protest with a purpose, undertaken by people who've put some thought into it, is meaningful - hamming it up for the cameras is not.

And when we over cover meaningless protest, we risk drowning out the real thing.

Listen to Jon's commentary: