Celebrity News Coverage

“The boundaries between news and entertainment, and between public affairs and pop culture, have become

difficult if not impossible to discern.”

-Geoffrey Baym

Is Celebrity News Getting

More Coverage?

What is News?

“Information about recent and important events; "they awaited news of the outcome.”

-www.wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

“Material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast; matter that is newsworthy.”

-Merriam-Webster

Where is Celebrity News? Victoria Beckham on Larry King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62dKyJ4SE4E&feature=related

• Anna Nicole Smith dead death died News Report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAEZFtIAvo8

• Paris Hilton For President Obama John McCain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzb9R9NVEtU

CBS

CNN

Fox News

MSNBC

New York Times

Time Magazine

USA Today

Taking Priority? Two sides.

Thomas Patterson of Harvard University: Soft news stories have

increased over time.

Dean Baquet of the LA Times: More celebrities means more coverage.

Who is to blame?

87 percent of the public says celebrity scandals receive too much news

coverage.

54 percent of people who say celebrity news is over-covered believe that

news organizations are to blame for giving attention to such coverage.

Young people blame the public more than the news media.

Paris Hilton’s Jail Time:- 4 percent of the national news was

devoted to that coverage.

-12 percent of the American public

said that the story was the one

they were following more than any

other.

- In the week that Paris was released

and then sent back to jail, that was

the #3 story on cable television.

Anna Nicole Smith’s death: 24 percent of all coverage was devoted to the story

Media references on March 2:

Fox News: 10 references to the Walter Reed story121 references to Anna Nicole Smith

MSNBC: 84 references to the Walter Reed story96 to Anna Nicole Smith

CNN: 53 references to the Walter Reed story40 references to Anna Nicole Smith

Brian Williams Resistance

“Viewer warning: There

will be no mention of

Britney Spears' baldness or

rehab in tonight's

broadcast, nor will there

be any mention of Anna

Nicole's 'body possession'

hearing”

Resistance

Mika Brzezinski

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdNcCcweL0

Jack Cafferty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OL9zl9IMlA&feature=PlayList&p=C57FA6BBE2AA7C2D&playnext_from=PL&index=2&playnext=2