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