Celebrity news is a huge part of the media. People love to read about their favourite stars and follow them on social media. They get a thrill from reading about the stars and it makes them feel happy, even if it’s just for a brief moment.

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The Media’s Influence on the Audience

While claims of media influence are often sensationalist, there is some truth to the fact that the media can have an effect on the audience. This is known as the Uses and Gratification Theory, which suggests that the media can influence the emotions and moods of certain audiences. It can make them laugh, feel happy or sad, depending on what kind of stories are told.

The media can also affect their values and attitudes. For example, a tabloid magazine might focus on celebrities who have done drugs or are involved in illegal activities. This can lead to moral panics, which are situations where the public is concerned about the negative effects of a certain group or activity. The media can create these fears by highlighting the dangers and risks of the group or activity, or by showing images that are disturbing or scary.

Whether it’s the latest on Love Island winners Jack and Dani or the Twitter drama between Kanye West and Drake, audiences are obsessed with celebrity news. It’s not just celebrities though, as people are also interested in what’s happening in their friends’ lives. As a result, celebrity journalism has become its own phenomenon. It stretches beyond gossip columns and tabloid magazines, with whole news programmes dedicated to this type of content. The media’s obsession with celebrity news may be partly due to the fact that it is entertaining and fun to read.

The Media’s Uses and Gratification Theory

People are obsessed with celebrities, and they are willing to read every bit of gossip about them. It could be as simple as wondering whether Jack and Dani from Love Island are still together, or as complicated as reading about the Twitter drama between Kanye West and Drake. People like to read stories about celebrities because it makes them feel connected with the characters and the situation. It also helps to distract them from their own problems and concerns. As a result, the media’s celebrity journalism has become very popular and profitable for them.

Uses and gratification theory is an audience-centered approach to mass communication that was developed by Elihu Katz, Jay Blumler, and Michael Gurevitch in the early 1970s. It differs from earlier models that assumed audiences are passive and at the mercy of media messages. Katz and his colleagues emphasized that the media should be focused on how people actively choose specific media types to fulfill their own personal needs.

The five elements of the theory include diversion or escapism; companionship and developing social relationships; learning and education; entertainment; and value reinforcement and exploring personal identity. This is an important distinction because it focuses on how the media can help meet people’s needs rather than relying on them to determine what the media should be telling them.

The Media’s Sensationalism

Sensationalism is a tactic news organizations use to grab readers’ attention. They do so by incorporating shocking words, exaggeration and even lies into their stories. Despite the fact that sensationalism can be very misleading, it still attracts large audiences, according to studies on the subject.

In an age when there is only so much space in a broadcast or page, the media often resorts to sensationalism to attract and retain viewers. This is because the more viewers a story attracts, the higher the likelihood of a news organization getting ad revenue. Many studies on information processing and enjoyment of sensationalist news have found that the more arousing a news story is, the more likely viewers are to enjoy it (e.g., Kamhawi and Grabe, 2008; Kleemans, Hendriks Vettehen, & Beentjes, 2014).

As such, the tendency of the media to favor sensational over informative news has been a constant throughout history. However, this trend has become more extreme due to digital technology and media business incentives.

In addition to affecting our ability to process and appreciate information, sensationalism also interferes with the public’s perception of truth. This is particularly true when it comes to celebrity news. People want to know what is going on in the lives of celebrities, even though it may be far-fetched or unrelated to actual events. This has led to a lack of journalistic integrity and has had a negative impact on the world’s view of celebrities.

The Media’s Obsession

The popularity of celebrity gossip can be illustrated by the success of tabloid newspapers and glossy magazines. For example, The Sun in the United Kingdom has a daily circulation of over 1.2 million and The National Enquirer had a weekly circulation of around 260,000 in 2020. These numbers show how much people love a bit of celeb news and that it’s not going away anytime soon.

In addition to these popular tabloids, there are numerous websites that offer celebrities news and gossip. Websites like TMZ and Perez Hilton have millions of followers and generate revenue from readers who access their content. These sites also encourage their readers to share their favourite gossip with their friends and family, further extending their reach.

Some researchers believe that the rise of celebrity obsession is due to the availability of so much information about celebrities. With social media, celebrities are able to communicate with their fans directly and share intimate details about their lives. This can make people feel as though they know them personally and create a sense of bonding.

However, it is possible for celebrity obsession to become problematic. Many students spend so much time looking up celebrity news that they neglect their studies and fail to spend quality time with their families. Moreover, some people are so obsessed with celebs that they even go to extreme lengths to find out about their private affairs. This is a serious problem and needs to be addressed before it spirals out of control.