Katie Price and Peter Andre – What is News?
Celebrity Press Releases,Celebrity Gossip, Media & the Tabloid Press
Oct 5, 2009
When celebrity couple Katie Price (Jordan) and Peter Andre issued press releases announcing their separation in May 2009 the resulting media feeding frenzy certainly raised the question, yet again: What is News?
Celebrity Press Releases as News?
From matter of fact BBC television and news sources, to the sensible broadsheet newspaper The Guardian and sabre- rattling tabloid The Sun the main storyline about the separation of Katie Price and Peter Andre was remarkably similar, indicating the presence of the ubiquitous celebrity press releases as the principal source of information.
Katie and Peter lived their short married life in a continuous media spotlight, from starting their relationship on the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here to the subsequently numerous TV reality shows that followed their marriage.
Tabloid Press Focus on Celebrity Lifestyle
Certainly this so-called sensational story line has run on and on, particularly in the downmarket tabloid press, where Katie Price stories, in particular, have been front page news on an almost daily basis, perhaps indicative that her value as a former topless model and sleazy "ladette" has still not deteriorated. Although the split was at first assumed to be a publicity stunt, it has definitely not harmed the careers of either Katie Price or Peter Andre.
Nowadays, the UK tabloid focus is primarily on celebrity lifestyle and gossip rather than reporting hard news. However, with reference to the Katie Price and Peter Andre storyline, the sheer inanity of the front page comments supposedly made by the couple since May 2009 have certainly worn a little thin and beggar the question of What is News.
Whether the tabloids inordinate focus upon celebrity lifestyle and gossip as opposed to news began in the 1980s, with the advent of magazines such as Bella and Hello is debatable, however it certainly became more commonplace and contributed a great deal more to front page news. Indeed, now it has to be said that to seek hard news in tabloids is a pretty vain affair.
Celebrity Gossip is Popular
Tabloid focus has always tended to be upon the grotesque, bizarre and sensational and the popularity of celebrity gossip magazines such as Bella and Hello since their 1980s launch, proved that further focus could be made upon the celebrity gossip market in the media. Although these celebrity gossip publications were originally scorned by the literati, they proved to be the new benchmark in the women's magazine market and formed a separate niche altogether.
Has the Press Release Replaced the Role of the Investigative Journalist?
Certainly for the news industry as a whole, it is far easier and cheaper to rely upon press releases than to search out and investigate news. Gradually the position of the investigative journalist within the news industry has been whittled away, until journalism becomes a case of merely processing and summarising press releases, with gossip columnists and celebrity feature writers taking greater precedence within the newspaper industry.
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