This news business can be a bit disappointing at times.

I learned it early on when one of my first stories ever assigned to me was to cover the local board of education budget sessions.

Sifting through the documents the school district's business manager had handed everyone in the audience - me and the teacher union's representative - and then listening to ensuing discussion, my head was swimming with numbers almost too big to fathom for the little community I was covering.

Millions upon millions of dollars were being spent. It amazed me that so few were at the meeting and when I wrote the story for the next day's paper, I was even more surprised at the underwhelming response it received.

Yeah, it was no Pulitzer Prize winner, but it got the facts out. The school district is spending a whole lot of money, and it is your tax dollars. The resounding thud and the sound of crickets was the best way to note the readers' interest level.

Lesson No. 1: Just because something is important doesn't mean people will want to read it. Or watch it. Or listen to it. No matter how well written, filmed, produced or reported, some stories simply don't catch readers' attention as well as others.

Videographer Tim Appel got a first hand lesson in this last year when he noted that a reader submitted video of a blizzard as it pounded the reader's back porch got more views than some of his best, most important videos.

"Just stick a camera out your window and thousands of people will watch," he grumbled. And he was right.

Sometimes, it's the topic and little else. So goes the case with Michael Jackson. Yes, it's a big story, but it certainly isn't the most important news of the day. Millions of people respond to the endless stream of barely news stories, video and reports while the real news marches on.

I am simply grateful that the media, though turning massive resources toward the Jackson story, still is reporting the news. Have you been watching? It can be a bit hard to find out there amidst the glove one's superfluous coverage. But it's there.

If you haven't, here's a quick look at some of the top stories that have received less than broad coverage over the past week.

Marines Pursue Taliban in Afghanistan

Half a world away, U.S. Armed Forces continue their push in Afghanistan, the largest military operation there since the start of the war in 2001.

Working to take back militant-held territory and pinch Taliban supply lines, the military's massive effort was actually the second of stories to fall into the wake of Michael Jackson's passing. The first was the continuing transition in Iraq from U.S. forces to local security.

Needless to say, it's good to see a little ink and digital celluloid offered up for the troops - especially on the Fourth of July holiday.

Feds: Needle Swaps Expose 6,000 to Hepatitis C

Holy cow!

Federal authorities say a drug-addled former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of patients at a Denver health care facility to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic.

Apparently, several former patients have already tested positive for the life-threatening disease. More alarming, though, is that literally thousands were exposed to the dirty syringes.

What makes it even that more alarming is that it happened in our relative back yard, Denver. OK, it's six hours away, but in this neck of the woods, that's just a little beyond commute times.

Young 'Slumdog' Star Gets New Home

Even in the same news genre, there has been noteworthy news that has gone with little notice. Perhaps the most heartwarming bit of celebrity news is that of 11-year-old Azhar Ismail, one of the young stars of the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

The young star had continued to live in absolute squalor, even after the film's massive international success. But the shantytown they lived in was recently demolished, leaving him and his family with no place to live.

On Tuesday, that all changed after the film's director helped he and his family move into a new apartment. Apart from the obvious comforts of living in a real house vs. life on the streets, the family is especially grateful for the private bathroom the apartment provides. When they lived on the streets, they had to pay the equivalent of 4 cents a day for use of a public toilet.

Ducklings Dive Off 2nd Story Ledge

OK, OK, so this isn't really more newsworthy than MJ and his mourners. But oh, it is so refreshing.

I mean, the simple image of baby ducks waddling after their mother is one of the best I can think of when I need a break from the 24/7 drudgery that is the fallout from the entertainers' death.

Add to the mix the slight news element that the problem of the jumping ducklings is a recurring event and that it could be the same reckless mama duck that keeps laying eggs on the second floor of the Spokane building, it's news enough for me.

Job Expert: Layoffs Still Should Be Expected

The No. 1 story for most Americans, despite what you may see on your television, hear on your radio or read online or in the newspaper is the economy.

And there were some disturbing signs this past week as unemployment continued to rise toward dreaded double-digit territory.

Now, I could simply post the straight-forward video announcing that nationwide, unemployment moved into the mid 9 percent territory last month. But at this point, we get it: The economy, it's not so good.

Instead, I'll go with layoff coach Maury Hanigan, who says everyone should be ready to be laid off. And she offers up a few pieces of advice on what to do if the ax falleth.