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Number 016www.curriculum-press.co.uk

Contemporary Issues in British Newspapers: Celebrity Reporting

M tudiesSediaThe aim of this Factsheet is to identify and analyse contemporaryissues and debates surrounding the British national press,specifically:• Celebrity and the press• Audiences and the narrative of celebrity• The spectacle of celebrity• Privacy and press coverage

Celebrity and the PressThe most dominant form of soft news is the reporting on celebrityculture. The notion of celebrity – of being famous –was, at onetime, restricted to Royalty and people who were successful in apublic career such as film stars and musicians.Rojek (2003) argues that the modern idea of ‘celebrity’ can be placedinto four distinct categories:• Ascribed: Those who are famous because of the role they have.

e.g. Monarchs, high-profile politicians and aristocrats e.g.: TheRoyal Family, Gordon Brown

• Achieved: Those who have achieved fame through theirachievements. e.g. Paula Radcliffe (Olympic runner), Tracey Emin(artist), Madonna (recording artist)

• Attributed: Those who are represented as being significant bythe press e.g. Jordan, Paris Hilton

• Celetoid: Media-generated. e.g. lottery winner Michael Carrolland those associated with sexual scandal such as Rebecca Loos

ActivityLook at a tabloid and a broadsheet newspaper published onthe same day. Consider the following:· How much of the content of each paper is based around

celebrity?· How does the soft news reporting differ between tabloids

and broadsheets on the same day?· Which categories outlined by Rojek do these celebrities

fall into? Do the two genres focus on different types ofcelebrities?

· What do these differences tell you about the assumptionsbeing made by each paper about the interests of their targetaudience?

Both genres of British newspaper do cover celebrity stories butthey approach soft news differently. Analysing these differencescan highlight significant differences in the news values of the papersand assumed differences in the interests of the papers’ targetaudiences.

The popularity of celebrities could, in part, be due to the fact theycelebrities have become increasingly accessible. It could be arguedthis is due to:

1. Technological advancements such as telescopic lenses andmobile phones making celebrities easier to capture on cameraby photographers and the general public.

2. The exposure needed by celebrities in order to raise their publicprofile resulting in a mutual dependency between celebritiesand the press. In order to achieve popularity celebrities needthe media spotlight allowing their pregnancies, arguments,break-ups and illness to become part of the public domain.

Of course, if audiences did not want to read stories about celebrities,newspapers would not continue to focus on them.

The frequent reporting on celebrity culture has led to complaintsthat the standard of news reporting has declined. This focus ongossip, scandal and speculation is called tabloidisation and hasspread beyond tabloid newspapers and can also be found inmagazines (e.g. Heat), on television (e.g. E! News) and in broadsheetnewspapers.

The tabloid press in particular have been accused of relying tooheavily on cheque-book journalism and celebrity reporting. Manytabloid and mid-range tabloid newspapers devote more space tothese topics than to serious news issues and the focus on softnews means that serious events may begin to appear trivialised.

Exam Hint:-The examiner will expect you to show a knowledgeand understanding of contemporary issues in your discussionon British Newspapers and so the examples you use in theexam should be taken from recent news stories. It is fine to useolder stories as examples if they are relevant to the points youare making but avoid focussing on outdated news stories andcase studies.

DefinitionCheque Book Journalism: Paying someone for exclusive rightsto a news story or interview. This method of journalism can beproblematic as issues surrounding accuracy and balance areoften raised as the story printed comes from one person’sperspective only and the motivation to tell the story is oftenfinancial gain.

The British Broadsheet and Tabloidpress provide audiences withinformation about contemporaryevents in our society. Some of theseevents are known as hard newsstories – those which have anemphasis on global and politicalissues. However, dominatingnewspaper reporting, particularly inthe tabloids, are soft news storieswhich usually focus on celebritiesand human interest stories. Kate Moss and Pete Doherty

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016. Contemporary Issues in British Newspapers: Celebrity Reporting Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

Audiences and the Narrative of CelebrityPart of the appeal of celebrity is the narratives that their lives oftentake. The sensationalism, gossip, glamour, drama and sometimesscandal of celebrities’ lives provides a constant source ofentertainment and intrigue for audiences. The tabloid press oftensensationalise celebrity events in order to attract audiences.Scandalous stories are regularly reported in the tabloid pressallowing audiences to relish in the downfall of celebrities while alsomoralising on the wrongs they have allegedly committed.

The tabloid press ensures that, by usingsimple representations, celebrities arereduced to stereotypes. As a result theaudience are ideologically positioned toview these celebrities only through thestereotypes created by the tabloidpress. e.g. ‘jail bird’ Paris Hilton, ‘wildchild’ Lindsey Lohan and ‘unbalanced’Britney Spears have all provided thetabloid press with news storiesconcerning their erratic behaviour anddrug and alcohol problems. These

stereotypes create audience expectations as far as the narratives ofthese celebrities’ lives are concerned.

(http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003410014,00.html)

Hermes (1999) argues that the ‘narrativisation’ – the creation ofstories from people’s lives - of celebrity allows audiences to perceivecelebrities as ‘ordinary’ through the issues they have in commonwith them such as relationships, weight problems, pregnancy andquarrels. This allows audiences to relate to celebrities.

ActivityChoose a celebrity or celebrity couple whose lives are regularlynarrativised by the press. Conduct a case study investigatingthe alleged highs and lows of their lives that have featured inthe press? What part of their lives do you think audiencesrelate to as being ordinary? What benefits does your celebrityget from the expose they receive?

The Beckham's and the Press – Mutually DependentVictoria and David Beckham are an example of a celebrity couplewhose lives are continually serialised. Their current move to LosAngeles has resulted in high press and audience interest. Everypart of the move has been narrativised via the press, TV, andmagazines. TV shows have been commissioned charting the highsand lows of David’s new football team and Victoria’s attempts tosettle into her new life.

The purpose of this exposure allows the Beckhams to maintain ahigh public profile in the UK while offering the potential for theirmedia profile to grow in America. The series also allows audiencesto see the Beckham's being represented as ordinary people,struggling to settle in a new country with their young family. Thecouple have ensured that plenty of press coverage has focused ontheir move to compliment the television coverage they have received,allowing them to reach a mass audience. Although their move wassuccessful many tabloid newspaper reports focussed on negativestories such as suspected marital problems, Victoria’s weight andallegations that the US media and audiences do not like theBeckham’s constant desire for publicity.

Ideologies within Celebrity CultureThe financial wealth displayed in celebrity culture representsaspirational ideologies. It could be argued that celebrities representa culture of beauty, wealth and youth and public obsession withthem reflects the audience’s desire to be young, beautiful, and rich.The lives of footballers and their wives and girlfriends (or WAGs)are often reported on giving details of their salaries and the moneythey spend shopping. The extravagance of their lives is perceivedby many as being an admirable lifestyle and one which audiencesaspire to.

The Spectacle of CelebrityCase Study: Jade GoodyJade Goody first gained celebrity status as a contestant on BigBrother 3 (2002) and was initially represented negatively in thetabloid press. Although not the winner of the show, Jade quicklybecame a high profile celebrity cultivating a positive persona ofbeing ordinary and ‘real’. Jade sold her story to many magazinesand newspapers, endorsed diets, made her own work-out DVD,stared in documentaries exclusively about her, wrote a regularcolumn in Now Magazine, and even brought out her ownperfume. Ideologically, Jade Goody was now viewed byaudiences as an ordinary girl who deserved to profit from hermedia exposure.

In 2007 Jade returned as acontestant to Celebrity BigBrother. Jade’s appearancealongside her family wasmeant to be a PR exerciseto increase her publicprofile.

While on the show it was alleged that Jade made racist commentsand encouraged bullying behaviour towards other housemembers. These actions contrasted sharply against the publicimage she had cultivated. The spectacle of Jade’s celebrity wasultimately her downfall. The public and the media relished in herdramatic fall from grace and, since her eviction, the media havemonitored her desperation and misery. Audiences, it appears,have enjoyed both her fortunes and now her failures and therecent representations in Celebrity Big Brother have changedpublic perceptions of her.

Jade Goody and Big Brother Contestants(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/BBHousemates.jpg)

Celebrity reporting often gives an insight into the dominantideologies of the day. ‘Acceptable’ behaviour is rewarded withpositive reporting and ‘unacceptable’ behaviour is punishedwith negative responses.

• Jade’s loss of status came because she was seen as racist• Jordan’s partying ways were acceptable until she became a

mother and then her behaviour was reported asinappropriate

• Madonna’s fitness regime’s were admired until she enteredmiddle age

Considering these examples illuminates the dominant ideologiesattached to attitudes to racial difference, ideas of motherhoodand the position of older women in society.

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016. Contemporary Issues in British Newspapers: Celebrity Reporting Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

Fame and Notoriety Case Study: Jordan and Katie

ActivityHow does our society feel about:· Drug taking? (Kate Moss)· Older women marrying younger men? (Demi Moore)· Promiscuous sexual behaviour in gay men (George Michael)

or women? (Paris Hilton)· Mental instability? (Britany Spears)

Exam Hint:- The examiners’ reports comment on students whorepeat case studies learnt in the classroom in the exam withoutactually engaging with the question that has been asked. Makesure you plan your response and link your case studies to thequestion that has been set. Simply repeating a case study wordfor word will mean you are not fully answering the question andthis will have a negative effect on your overall mark.

PriceJordan is a celebrity whose lifeis continually played out in thepublic domain. Initially, Jordangained fame as a Page Threemodel and regularly appeared asa ‘lad’s mag’ pin-up.

Later, Jordan gained notorietythrough her wild partying andregular kiss-and-tell exclusives.

Ideologically Jordan was represented as a sexual predatoralienating her from a mass female audience. This, coupled withthe birth of her first son who suffers from serious disabilities,initially sparked negative representations from the tabloid presswho accused her of causing her son’s illness through herexcessive partying whilst pregnant.

In 2004 Jordan began a re-branding campaign. This re-branding,using her real name, coincided with a change in management tocelebrity PR manager Max Clifford. Katie Price was launched onthe reality show I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here. Although arunner-up on the show the mass audience exposure for KatiePrice was a success. While on the show she met and began arelationship with Peter Andre.

The audiences’ exposure to a celebrity romance and a newcelebrity in the shape of Katie Price re-launched her career. Nowmarried, Katie and Peter Andre regularly feature in the tabloidpress and media. They have regular columns in magazines andhave produced exercise DVDs, novels, lingerie and the coupleregularly star in documentaries about themselves. Katie has beenvoted celebrity mother of the year and is now representedpositively as mother, wife and celebrity.

Katie Price and Peter Andre(h t tp : / /news .bbc .co .uk /med ia /i m a g e s / 4 0 7 1 7 0 0 0 / j p g /_40717520_hazz_jordan.jpg)

DefinitionPublic Relations (PR) Manager: Is a person responsible formaking promotional deals and controlling the representationsof their clients. PR managers take a percentage of celebrities’fees and manage their careers making sure they receive as muchpositive exposure as possible, while also being responsible forcontrolling any bad publicity that may occur.

Privacy and Press Coverage

As public interest in celebrityand scandal increases, more andmore public figures are beginningto not only live in the spotlightbut also complain about pressintrusion.

Technological developments intelescopic lenses meansphotographers have more accessto celebrities.

Paparazzi: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/entertainment/celebrity/paparazzi.shtml )

Many celebrities feel their right to privacy is now compromised dueto these advancements. It has been argued that if celebrities chooseto use the media to further their careers and raise their public profilesthey forfeit the right to complain if their privacy is also invaded.This has opened up the debate about the rights of individuals toprivacy and what information is actually deemed in the publicinterest.

Kate Middleton alleged that photographs published in The DailyMirror were an intrusion of her privacy and not in the public interest.She claimed that the photographer responsible for the pictures wasintimidating and made her feel vulnerable. The culture of celebritynow dominates the tabloid news agenda and as demand increasesfor celebrity scandal the press are under more pressure to provideinformation on celebrities’ lives and may go to more extreme measuresto get the story or the image they want.

The Press Complaints CommissionIn order to ensure that the press are respectful of both celebritiesand the general public the Press Complaints Commission (PCC)was founded in the 1990s to help create a code of conduct andpractice for journalists and photographers. The PCC is anindependent body which deals with complaints regarding theeditorial content of newspapers and magazines. The service is freeand is there to support anybody who feels that the printed presshas broken the PCC’s code of practice regarding their privacy, safetyor the way they have been represented. The PCC uses a tribunalsystem and legislation set by the government to stop any intrusionof the public’s privacy. The PCC is self-regulatory, meaning it iscontrolled and monitored by press organisations themselves.

SummaryWhilst newspapers’ focus on celebrity reporting is often criticisedfor its trivial nature and the way it can focus attention away fromhard news events and issues, it is worth considering that the primaryfunction of any newspaper is to sell and make a profit. Celebritystories sell newspapers and the audience’s desire for these storiesis what maintains the newspapers’ focus on soft news.

Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written by Emma CairnsCurriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Media Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a registeredsubscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher.