Why does the Media focus on celebrities?

Question

This is my first question to be posted on yahoo. It looks pretty interesting and I’m hoping to get a lot of feedback from this question.

My specific question is from a growing irritation at today’s media. I feel that the lack of information that we get is frustrating in the extreme. My general question today is why do the networks focus so much time on celebrities and not on the real issues. For example the networks devote whole months of day to day coverage of Paris Hilton and Anna Nichole Smith and the likes. When the world is falling apart and we can’t get real information. Who cares what the celebrities are doing let them make movies and entertain us other than that DON’T DEVOTE WHOLE SECTIONS OF NEWS TO THEM. Very frustrating any thoughts?

Answer 1

The real answer is rather plain to see. The corporate sponsors of the media do not want people to be thinking about real world problems. If folks stopped being hypnotized by sports and celbrities, they might actually start wondering about the corrupt nature of American busines/Government.

So by flooding the news with that crapola, they keep the people brain numbed.

Now here's an interesting item: for the last three months it's been Paris Hilton. While that's been going on in front of the 24 hour news cameras, the Hilton Hotel Chain has been involved in a huge and possibly corrupt international business buy-out. You could only know about the Hilton business scam if you dig, which most people don't have the interest or patience for.

So the whory little wench is waved in front of us, and like the magician telling us to watch his left hand while his right hand does the sneaky stuff, they fool us all.

Answer 2

Very true the media does focus on famous people but really don't worry about what is going on out in the real world. This is the way i see it famous people well not all but some for example Paris and Nicole they see every thing in pink when actually there is more then pink out in the world. media may think that is more important than trying to figure out how to stop war in Iraq or finding out a way to stop child abuse or how to help those that right now need help those who haven't recovered fully for Katrina and other events that had happened like September 11. It is frustrating.

Answer 3

Because the people drive the numbers.

Polling in the news is the reason, plus news is big business.

The people really want what you are complaining about. The in your face news reporting of how the world is falling apart around us, people don't want to know about.

A good example is the whole Clinton BJ fiasco. The public was screaming "enough" saying they were sick of it. Yet the paper I worked for, circulation was up by double digits and advertising was way up. The news was forced to over report.

Sex, mayhem, and beating up on people publicly is what the public clamors for. War, the environment, and how the government is screwing us takes a back seat. Part of that, I imagine, is we simply do not want to know because we feel powerless to stop it and while we all know how terrible it is, we'd rather bury our heads up our backsides then be faced with the truth's that really bother us.

In essence, it's more palatable for us to beat up on Paris then tell the truth about our current leadership, give front page attention to a plane crash in Brazil then report on all the wars and death that is happening because of our world wide arms sales, and report on the sexual prowess of a public official rather then inform the public that sex and private matters between consenting adults is no ones business but their own.

The people are as much to blame as the business of news that is profit driven rather then content driven. It is reasons like that is why I no longer respect or trust the news.

Peace

Jim

.

Answer 4

For the same reason they focus on bad news and negative issues. It generates more public interest, hence higher ratings, hence higher ad revenues. This is a business decision not a personal one. 3000 planes landing safely everyday is not news. One plane crashing is.

News organizations do offer actual news coverage in the traditional sense but this makes up a relatively small portion of their overall product these days. Those who want to do real reporting and “investigative journalism” understand that in order to make these ventures cost-effective, they have to first generate an audience. In this way, celebrity and other sensational stories serve that purpose. They get people to watch then keep them watching long enough to get whatever “news” the organization wants to give them. This is the reason certain stories are “teased” several times during a newscast before they are actually presented. “Teasing” it gets and holds your attention. When you watch, read or listen, the organizations ratings/circulation increases. Ad revenues are generated on this basis.

Any organization that sanctimoniously refuses to do this kind of “loss-leader” reporting will not last long in the industry as they would not generate the kind of ratings/circulation needed to justify ad placement.


If the majority of the market wanted their information minus sensationalism and entertainment, academic journals would have higher circulation than newspapers and NPR would have higher ratings than Rush Limbaugh.

Answer 5

I work for media..... the main reason why they do it is so they can have people NOT focused on whats really happening... also because most americans are CLOSE-MINDED.. (not all.. just most) and like to gossip about celebrites when they dont even know them... and really its all because of the media..

The media makes them look a billion times snobbier and worse than they really are....

for example... Paris Hilton...

no one really knows her.. they just talk about what they heard on television.

I know her personally and I can tell you she is much smarter than you think..

All media does is make things 100 times worse.... and yes they shouldnt show BS about celebrites as they are normal as we are.... just with bigger bank accounts. But that means nothing.

Another example would be Iraq.... notice how when we were in the middle of the "war" and how the media would show images in iraq in the desert and how ugly it looked...

Before this idiot man people call our president, Mr. Bush ruined Iraq..... it was probably a nicer country than most parts in America..

They had buildings, green grass.. everything.... it was a nice city........ I can type for hours...but yes.. media does pay more attention to celebs rather than the more important.. I dont think it will ever change either, because we will always have chaos going on around the world.. esp. with this "man" that is in power.

Answer 6

by using fact regrettably, that's what pastimes human beings. instead of residing their very very own lives, human beings want to savour the chuffed moments of others, and chuckle at their downfalls. human beings want to concentration on what's undesirable approximately each and every physique else, to take the concentration off of themselves. They use celebrities as their scapegoats, by using fact each and every physique is familiar with who the stars are, so as that they might relate, while if the media in simple terms used a random man or woman they understand, then rarely every physique might understand who they have been speaking approximately. additionally, considering it particularly is celebrities that the persons are examining approximately, it makes them experience wealthy and renowned, whether basically for a rapid time. examining approximately celebrities, the "suited human beings" (yeah perfect), provides little young ones a functionality form to examine to (even inspite of the undeniable fact that they won't be a good functionality form).

Answer 7

I agree. Who cares about those celebrities? The liberal media is just trying to cover up the real issues.

Answer 8

The media doesn't report anything controversial, so most of the actual news goes unreported. Celebrities are never controversial, they thrive on attention and you can't get attention by being controversial (or the media won't report it).

Answer 9

The media is made up mostly of people whose only concern is getting a story about ANYTHING in order to further their carreer. They don't care about what's important and they don't mind bending the truth.

Answer 10

The simple answer is money and demand. If there were not a market for it, they wouldn't do it. For some odd reason a large segment of people hang on their every word.