I find myself constantly perplexed by Jennifer Lopez’ gall. Jo Lo is a gal who has taken manipulation of the media to the highest possible levels. In recent months, thanks to her is she in or out romance with master hyper Ben Affleck, people see her e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.

But she has, sadly, become an inside story that many in the press follow, but few take seriously.

Things have changed since the studio days when Joan Crawford could parade her kids around like toys and get press to clamor. The reason—Crawford and her ilk were real talents, with decades of art behind them. Plus, the media was so much smaller and less cynical in the 1940’s.

There is another, more likely, explanation for J-Lower to become a staple joke (besides her lack of talent or our “real life” interest) and why her inclusion in daily news hasn’t helped sell records or movies: The Lopez camp picked the wrong time to think the media is stupid.

By stupid I mean the press doesn’t pick up stories the way they used to. Traipsing from one love interest to another, going from one image to another, shifting from one transient “mood” to something even more artificial, might have worked for people like Madonna—she’s been a regular part of our diet for 22 years—but even Big M knows when to stop. Most press people were shocked to see her give up the goat recently on being Miss Anti-War when it stopped selling her disks; she oh so silently went back to wiser and older sex kitten, natch.

Today, even while media players like Us and People still write about Lo and Ben, they cover them as has-beens and curiosities. When new rag In Touch stole a taste of Ben at a gas station coffee shop (“OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW”), it got more people panting in the media ranks than at the water cooler. This is a case of media covering media covering media, and nothing is worse for a product, which ostensibly gets lost in this convoluted transaction.

The Gigli fiasco and her off-again wedding may mean several months of bad news for the twosome, but who knows? Jo Lo and her boy pal may make the US titter now, but it’s comforting to know our celebrities can always find new venues in which to make money.

As Jennifer’s long-awaited CD has been delayed, many companies associated with the moneymakers of Ben and Jen may wonder if it’s time to pull plugs. As an answer, I offer the sage words of once-and-always laughable Pia Zadora who once told the media at large…

“Make fun of me all you want. I’m a household name. And that’s what counts in show biz!”