Sunday, March 8, 2009
More Chris-Rihanna 'News'? No Thanks!
Are many people really lusting after more news on the Chris Brown/Rihanna abuse case? This was the argument Harvey Levin of TMZ.com, the celebrity news and gossip website, tried to make this morning on Reliable Sources. Howard Kurtz, the host and Washington Post news media critic, posed the question of whether the elite newspaper media felt above the story, since publications like the New York Times relegated the charges to a paragraph in the Arts section. In contrast, cable, network news, and tabloids gave the matter ample coverage. Too much, I’d say. My guess is that most Americans didn’t even know who these two were until Brown’s alleged attack. I think such coverage does shine some light on domestic violence(once again), so there is some benefit, but the blowup of the story on the evening news(I caught it on Katie Couric’s newscast) is why journalism has lost credibility with more serious news consumers. TMZ’s Levin tried to make the case that the failure to give people the kind of news they want—in this instance the Chris Brown story, which TMZ is all over—is why newspapers are suffering such losses, but that’s just his way of promoting his brand. Many newspaper readers are tired of the heavy focus on celebrity coverage and tabloid news. The celebrity obsession is fine for TMZ, but the Chris Brown/Rihanna story isn’t front page news in a world where there is so much economic and social upheaval worldwide. Put Brown in jail if he’s guilty, get Rihanna some counseling, and use precious news space for pressing issues facing us all.
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hmmm... I'd disagree with most Americans not knowing who the two were -- Rihanna is an international celebrity and Grammy award winner. While I don't think the story is deserving of front-page news multiple days in a row, but TMZ has a point. Rihanna and Chris Brown are most known in the under-30 age group, most of whom aren't reading newspapers in print anyways. While I don't think making the story front-page news would increase newspaper sales, it highlights the decreasing role of print newspapers, like the Times and the Post, to really connect with a younger age bracket --
ReplyDeleteMany people say celebrity news isn't 'real' news or journalism, but for many in the under-30 age bracket - it is. And this type of event, which is serious, and has teenagers and young people talking about the issue of domestic violence, I think is one of those 'gems' of an opportunity to connect some of the 'fluff' to serious things.
This isn't to say that young people don't care about economic and social upheaval... many do, but most don't know about the plight of women in Afghanistan, or similar serious issues facing women around the world.
Instead of regulating the incident to a paragraph in the Arts section, why not reach out to young readers by connecting the issue of domestic violence to some of the issues facing women in different societies around the world. Maybe, an online feature, or front-page feature might catch the eye of a teen in 7-11 who might be prone to pick up the paper - just because he/she sees someone like Chris Brown or Rihanna, on the front page.
Let's face it - much to the chagrin of many in our society, celebrity, the idolization of those in the entertainment industry, and obsession with the personal lives of people we see on TV has become a national past-time, in order to deal with it (if we look at it as a problem) - the way I see it, newspapers have to confront it, and maybe it could save them.
Thanks for dropping by. As I noted, coverage does shine some light on domestic violence, but at a certain point there becomes a limit to how many big issues one celebrity story can attract coverage to(partly because of the short attention span in the media). I think there have been some good spinoffs on teen date violence and other issues. There is a place for celebrity news(I have some guilty pleasures). More worrisome is the low interest young people have in more serious news. I just gave a news quiz(possible 25 points max), and the highest scores were 9's, and that's partly because there was a three-point bonus question about Big East #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. I can't blame Rihanna-Chris Brown, though. A good portion of the class(a college journalism course) claimed not to be interested in or following that story. Actually, the students weren't following anything much. When they do follow serious news, students often take offense when the NYT or other established papers go tabloid. They don't see it as their role. I think it's kind of like having their parents show up for a rave party. :-)
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