(860) 241-3847
nie@courant.com
In-paper
Activities:
6/4 GEOGRAPHY
- CT LIVING C3
6/11 SCIENCE & YOU
- MAIN A5
6/11 SCIENCE & YOU
- MAIN A5
6/11 SCIENCE & YOU
- MAIN A5
Thank you Sponsors!
|
Readers and journalists groan under a glut of celebrity news
 Take a look at your newspaper's front page and online home page. Are there any reports about celebrities and entertainment? How many?
Ask your friends and family how much they like celebrity news and gossip. Encourage them to be honest.
The deaths actress Farrah Fawcett and singer Michael Jackson on the same day last week overwhelmed all other news on newspaper websites, television screens and social networks. Reports about North Korea threatening the United States with missiles and Iranian police rounding up journalists and protesters were buried beneath an avalanche of celebrity news. Cable news channels and all three major broadcast networks aired special prime-time reports on the deaths. Interest was intense. Readers stalled computers at Google and the Los Angeles Times in their search for more information on the "King of Pop." Twitter and Facebook nearly collapsed as users talked about the deaths on the social networks. Jackson fans around the world set up makeshift shrines and held candle-light vigils. In one of the strangest tributes, 1,500 inmates at a Philippines prison choreographed and taped a dance routine set to his music. However, even in the heart of the the entertainment industry, Los Angeles Times columnist Timothy Rutten was complaining that the serious news media was having a "collective nervous breakdown" in its obsession with celebrity news. "Whatever they say, many newspaper editors and TV news producers have begun to allow website hits and social media volume to ... dictate coverage and the play of news stories," he wrote. At Yahoo, readers responded with a strong "YES!" when asked if there was too much news coverage on Jackson. "This is the strangest, most frivolous country on the planet to spend so much time on that weirdo," one wrote. Of course,heavy celebrity coverage didn't start with Jackson's death. At Yahoo's annual meeting this month, CEO Carol Bartz sympathized with a man who practically begged her to take some of the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and other celebrity news off the home page. "I am sick of hearing about those guys with the eight kids," he said. "Please stop dumbing down the home page." "I'm the same way," Bartz replied." If I see another Britney Spears thing, I'm gonna throw up."
Front Page Talking Points is written by Felix Grabowski and Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2009
We welcome comments or suggestions for future topics: Click here to Comment |
ArchiveReaders and journalists groan under a glut of celebrity news 'Citizen journalists' help Iran protest news get past government restrictions GM, Chrysler roll in new directions without hundreds of dealers Old-school TV stations finish switch to digital era this week Historic Supreme Court nominee heads to Senate hearings Facebook show and tell can sabotage college admission Hubble Telescope repaired by ultimate geek squad: NASA crew Job opening, experience required: U.S. Supreme Court justice Flu jitters shut schools, spread concern and mobilize health officials Online videos draw more eyes as content keeps expanding -- and making news Earth Day brings reminders of progress -- and environmental challenges National TV Turnoff encourages plugging into other activities Facebook and Twitter show how social networking is changing the Net and communication Earth Hour's environmental message was seen in the dark First Family plants vegetable garden at a greener White House Game on: Follow the college basketball thrills of March Madness Daily papers cope with challenges to avoid being an endangered species Pentagon opens fallen soldiers' homecoming ceremonies to media Chris Brown-Rihanna fight shines light on dating dangers Peanut safety scare raises wider concerns about our food |
Over the next week, keep count of the number of celebrity and serious news stories you read.
Columnist says: "No reasonable editor or producer should ignore the kind of public interest we're seeing (about Michael Jackson). But surrendering utterly to it ultimately undercuts what's genuinely valuable about serious news media." - Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times