CuLt oF tHe CeLebRiTy..x

What is a 'sleb'?

A 'sleb' is the term given to a 'c list' celebrity. Such celebrities are those that have become famous from reality tv shows such as 'Big Brother' whom claim a celebrity status from merely sppearing on these shows as opposed to true 'a list' celebrities.

Looking at an edition of a national tabloid, in what ways are celebrity related stories presented in this edition? Account for these representations...

(1) Story: 'Britney Shears' - shocking photos that prove tormented star needs help...
This news story is on the front page of the 'News of the World', where two accompanying photographs are also shown. This article presents Britney to be a self destructed and insecure mother whereby she appears to be irresponsible. They have not taken a very sympathetic approach towards her post natal depression and perhaps the reasons why she may have become this way where she appears to genuinely need help she is portrayed as asking for what she got. This is negetive publicity and tarnished her past success.

nEwS VaLuEs..x

What is 'gate keeping'?

The gatekeepers are predominantly the editors whom are responsible for selecting and ordering news broadcasts or selecting and planning the newspaper layout. This is the process of deciding the stories considered for inclusion in the paper and rejecting others.

What do we mean by 'bias'?

In terms of news values this is the fact that the way every news story/report is presented is influenced by the backgrouds and attitudes of the interviewers, photographers, writers and editors based around it.

Galtung & Ruge...

Frequency : The time span of an event and the extent to which it fits the frequency of the newspaper's or news broadcast's schedule.
'Cut Carbon Emissions By 60% - Londoners given 20 years target to go green'

Thereshold: How big is an event? Is it big enough to make it into the news?

Unambiguity: The message is clear just in the title of the article. although the article is only small the message is still given in brief in the title.

Meaningfulness: How meaningful will the event appear to the receivers of the news? Hartley stresses in this context what he refers to as “cultural proximity”. Events happening in cultures very different from ours will not be seen as being inherently meaningful to audiences here.
'Girl Guides See Future Blighted By Sex Bias And Pressure To Be Thin'

Unexpectedness: This is unexpected because you dont expect a baby especially to die and then come back alive.
'Public View Us As Sex Obsessed, Archbishop tell Anglican Synod'

Consonance: Does this event match the audience’s expectations? Journalists have a pretty good idea of the angle from which they want to report an event, even before they get there.

Continuity : Once an event has been covered, it is convenient to continue to cover it – the running story.

Composition: This is a matter of the balance of the news. It is a master of the editors’ judgement, more than anything else. A different news broadcast will have a different agenda in terms of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ news, for example, usually dependant on the perceived target audience.

Reference to elite nations:This again relates to ‘cultural proximity’. Those nations which are culturally closest to our own will receive most of the courage.

Reference to elite person: The media pay attention to important people. Anyone the media pay attention to must be important (cult of the celebrity).
'Prime Suspects Triupmh at Oscars'

Personalisation: Events being seen as actions of individuals.
'Husband Doctored Virtuoso's work to save her legacy'

Negativity: Bad news is good news in terms of what is reported.
'Serbia Guilty Over Srebrenica Masscare'