CBS is sorry. Sorry for thinking you, America, are so stupid and celebrity-obsessed that you'd actually want to watch incessant coverage of Paris Hilton. Like last night and this morning's coverage of her release? It was stupid of them, CBS claims, to shove it down your throat. And they're not just apologizing on their own behalf, but for all of news media. They're hoping you'll forgive them, and give 'em another shot to show you that they aren't the same people who let Anna Nicole Smith's death saga take up double-digit percentages of their news broadcasts.

They'll never do it again, they swear!

From CBS' internal blog Public Eye:

A lot of people in the news media – especially in television and radio – owe you an apology.

They think so little of what you’re interested in that many of us led our newscasts overnight and this morning with the release from prison of heiress and would-be celebrity Paris Hilton.

When a story is first in a newscast, we’re saying we think it’s important. We’re saying we think it’s something you need to know about it.

Can any of us say we need to know about Paris Hilton’s release from jail after serving a few weeks for a motor vehicle infraction?

Would you change channels or stations if the Paris Hilton story wasn’t first up on the news?

I’m not saying the story isn’t of interest to some people. It’s part of the flaw in human nature that we feel drawn to stories about rich and/or famous people who screw up.

And I’m not saying the Hilton story shouldn’t be reported at all. It’s standard practice to end a newscast with what we call a “kicker” – something from the lighter side of the news.

But should we make it the lead or one of the top stories of a newscast when the U.S. has 156,000 troops at war in Iraq?

Of course, if you – the news audience – really care more about Paris Hilton than the situation in Iraq, maybe it’s you who owe us an apology.

Ahh, making it all our fault then, huh?