here and now matters

[user_gary]

Unfortunately, in an era of instantaneous television, news often has an hourly shelf life: only the here and now matters. Woolmer may have died, Inzamam may have retired. That was the past. Today,it was the turn of Dravid and Chappell to be crucified. What price the life and dignity of an individual when the "pride" of a nation is at stake?

Please explain the group of words.

[Ouisch]

It's making reference to the short attention span of the general public. A major news story captures our attention one day, and we forget about it the next day. ("Shelf life" is a phrase originally used to describe how long a food product can be kept in a cupboard before it spoiled or went stale.)

Here and now refers to whatever is happening at this particular moment. No matter how dramatic an event is, unless it is occurring right this minute, we tend not to pay it much attention. The 2004 Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Baby Jessica trapped in the well....all were front-page news at the time, but now most people have the attitude "that was then, this is now, so who cares?"