https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd Us Weekly en-us 2023-01-19 23:17:29 UTC 2025-11-12 14:50:52 UTC hello@padlet.com dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2458551161 In his writing Silverstone describes the purpose of studying re media to understand the complexities of how the media can alter the perspectives and opinions of our personal lives by exposing the public to the lives of different people who may live in very different conditions that the viewers. Silverstone states "Our stories, our conversations, are present both in the formal narratives of the media, in factual reporting and fictional representation, and in our everyday tales: the gossip, rumors and casual interactions in which we find ways of fixing ourselves in our relationships to each other, connecting and separating, sharing and denying, individually and collectively... it has been suggested (Silverstone 1981) that both the structure and the content of media narratives and the narratives of our everyday discourses are interdependent, that together allow us to frame and measure our experience. The public and the private intertwine, narratively."(pg 11, Silverstone). This excerpt emphasizes the idea that the media does not exist in a vacuum, and actually both it and the public are actually is very interdependent as the viewers can find strong connections and emotional resonances with stories being reported. While these concepts have both negative and positive implications, it can be seen as being positively reflected in the Us Weekly article "Tennis Icon Martina Navratilova Shares She’s ‘Cancer-Free’ After Overcoming Throat and Breast Cancer Diagnosis" By Kaitlin Simpson, as in this article the Tennis player Martina Navratilova discusses the pain and hardship she faced after her stage one throat cancer and breast cancer. She struggled greatly with this news, but similar to the concepts discussed by Silverstone, she was able to find comfort and support through her social media and her fans. In addition to this she by overcoming her illness she gave hope to her followers who may be in a similar situation. Kaitlin Simpson emphasizes this by quoting her as saying "Thank you to everyone who has reached out to share words of support. Together, we will fight this ♥️,” Lemigova wrote via Instagram after Navratilova went public with her health struggles in January."(pg 3, Kaitlyn Simpson) I found this very powerful because an illness such as cancer is a very human condition, and greatly reflects how celebrities do not exist alone in a higher plane of existence, but instead faces the same struggles as her followers and can find support and help hope them.]]> 2023-01-27 05:00:12 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2458551161 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2575513429 In the document “Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader The Economy of Celebrity” by Graeme Turner, Turner describes the big business of developing a celebrity's public profile. Many celebrities at a young age are pushed in front of large audiences and groomed to be the idealized image of Hollywood to generate more excitement. Turner states “Certain teenage stars of television soap operas, for instance, enjoy a high level of visibility in the US, the UK and Australia (among other locations), but in many cases find that once they leave the serial they are unable to find other work. They are easily replaced and quickly forgotten.” This fad of celebrity stardom takes a toll on the individual and dismantles their self-image. Realizing this quick turnaround, celebrities form a cyclical motion of importance and presence in the public eye. As such, the transparency of Hollywood is demystified and the major players within the industry are blown up and then cast aside. In addition, big Hollywood corporations push celebrities to conform to an idealistic image based on what they believe the greatest number of consumers want to see. Supporting this Turner states “Unlike factory-built products, celebrities have minds of their own and the capacity for independent action” (Turner, p. 2). Similar to the disregard that the business side of the celebrity industry has for the celebrities they are marketing as discussed in Turner's document, Us Weekly’s article “Miley Cyrus: “I’m Going to Rejoice” When Hannah Montana Ends By Us Weekly Staff March 17, 2010 depicts Cyrus’s disdain for the controlling nature of her producers and the executives at Walt Disney Co. This article written in 2010 was written during a pivotal moment in Miley Cyrus’s career in which she was about to film the final season in her contract with the pop show “Hannah Montana'', and was ready to express herself without being controlled into creating a kid friendly image for her young viewers. Us Weekly quotes her as saying “I can't breathe looking like that anymore," she tells Parade. "A friend came by the set one day and said, 'You don't look very happy.' I said, 'I'm feeling claustrophobic in all these frills." She's also hoping that distancing herself from Disney will change people's perceptions of her. "I hate being thought of as a product," she says. "I am not a doll, and people want to treat me that way… I'm older now. I have an opinion. I have my own taste."” This strongly resonates with Turner's description of the toll that cookie cutter celebrities face as they are stripped of an individual identity. Through their article Us Weekly profits from Miley Cyrus’s mental anguish as they are able to create a pathway for Miley to launch into fame, with all the necessary gossip. With these methods at the help Miley Cyrus was able to rocket the top of fame, but at the same time faced mental anguish through the suppression of her own opinion.]]> 2023-05-02 17:08:11 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2575513429 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577363507 In Patricia Aufderheide's article "A Critic on the Capitalist Culture Beat" Aufderheide discusses the key concepts of media literacy, importantly including the concept of being able to detect and acknowledge the commercial implications a source of media has. Although a media outlet may seem to be focused on providing information to the reader, many of them are actually adjusting the information provided to promote certain brands they are affiliated with and are compensated by. Supporting this she writes "Mass media do not speak to individuals but to groups of people, in fact, to demographic markets. You are part of several demographic markets-young people, men or women, Washingtonians, people with your particular hobby... Different media have different capacities to access different demographics."(pg 306, Aufderheide). The ability to distinguish when a media outlet is trying to sell you something is an important skill to have, and especial while navigating Us Weekly as they push advertisements in the deceptive form of "articles" to their readers. People who intend to read about pop-star and celebrity news, which is Us Weekly's biggest topic of discussion,  are mostly by young and impressionable consumers. This demographic is sold to by Us Weekly through articles like the one advertised to me titled "New Year, New lulu: Shop the Best lululemon Finds for 2023" by Suzy Forman. This article poses as an opinion piece about which clothes are in style right now, but what the reader might not initially catch is that at the bottom of the article, italicized, and in a grey font it states "In addition, Us Weekly receives compensation from the manufacturer of the products we write about when you click on a link and then purchase the product featured in an article." Clearly Us Weekly is promoting the products of lululemon specifically, as signified in the title, to receive payment for this advertising, and not on a fair basis on which products will be best for the consumer. Aufderheide's warning of the importance of media literacy in regards to understanding biased marketing schemes would greatly help in this situation.

]]> 2023-05-03 22:33:17 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577363507 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577387039 Daniel J. Bornstein "A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America" discusses important concepts of how the media system works as a whole. One of these discussed is that of the "media machine" creating and promoting celebrities who are currently popular for the industry, but then discarding them when the publics interest is no longer directed towards them. Bornstein states "The very agency which first makes the celebrity in the long run inevitably destroys him. He will be destroyed, as he was made, by publicity. The newspapers make him, and they unmake him-not by murder but by suffocation or starvation. No one is more forgotten than the last generation's celebrity. This fact explains the newspaper feature "Whatever Became Of. . .?" which amuses us by accounts of the present obscurity of former celebrities." This dynamic between the media and a celebrity creates a tension between the two, as a celebrities goal is to stay in the spotlight as long as possible, while a media outlet's goal is to sell as many articles as possible, so once a celebrity is n longer popular, they will stop promoting them, causing them to be even less popular, therefore snow-balling the effect. This is demonstrated through Us Weekly's article "‘The Big Bang Theory’ Cast: Where Are They Now?" by Erin Crabtree, as in this article Crabtree discusses the cast of the Big Bang Theory and what is currently happening in their careers. For many of them they were never able to achieve the same amount of fame that they had while on the popular tv show. In the article Crabtree discusses the career and life of the actor Simon Helberg who played Howard. She states that "Helberg took a break from acting after The Big Bang Theory but returned to the screen in Annette..." Simon Helberg demonstrates how actors in a niche position can find trouble finding new roles when the media doesn't report them as much, as with Helberg after "The Big Bang Theory", he would be in the media much less, and even took a break from acting for a while. Eventually when he did return he would never act on a show that had reach the same fame and critical acclaim as "The Big Bang Theory", demonstrating the disposable nature of actors in the industry.]]> 2023-05-03 23:14:54 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577387039 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577589428 In the document “The Assembly Line of Greatness: Celebrity in Twentieth-Century America” By Joshua Gamson, Gamson discusses the pivotal importance of early celebrity culture, by describing the step by step development of the “star system” in the early 1900s. He explains how the “star system” was a trusted method enacted by studios, film producers, and media outlets in which popularity and interest for a star by the public was generated by creating a lavish image of the rich celebrity life. Taking note of the process, interest was generated through the spread and solicitation of gossip, molding of the star’s personalities to fit an agenda, and flaunting their vast wealth and “glamorous” appearing Hollywood lifestyles in the process. In support of this claim, Gamson states, “The advantages of the star system had become abundantly clear to film manufacturers, and the studios moved quickly to institutionalize it. By the early 1920s, film performers were essentially studio owned-and-operated commodities. The system was rather extensive and very tightly controlled—successfully so because of the high integration of the industry (see Balio, 1985; Powdermaker, 1950)—encompassing the key aspects of production, distribution, and exhibition of films. Through the use of testing and molding, studios designed star personalities; through vehicles, publicity, promotion, public appearances, gossip, fan clubs, and photography, they built and disseminated the personalities; through press agents, publicity departments, and contracts, they controlled the images” (Gamson, p. 4 ). Many of the concepts and tactics Ganson describes are used in the Us Weekly article “The Fabulous Life of Kylie Jenner: Luxury Cars, Homes and More!” by Nicholas Hautman August 10, 2022. In this article to generate an interest for the audience, Hautman excitedly portrays the luxurious life of Kylie Jenner, describing her wildly impulsive purchases from her multi million Beverly Hills mansion, private jet, exotic fleet of cars, and even her pony that quote “cost $10,000 to fly the animal from the Netherlands to Los Angeles.” To emphasize and excite the reader over her Jenner’s car collection Hautman writes “Kylie’s driveway is packed with luxury vehicles that she either purchased or received as gifts. She reportedly owns multiple Rolls-Royces and Ferraris, plus a Lamborghini Aventador, a Range Rover Autobiography, a Mercedes-Benz, a Bentley and a Land Rover.” Similar to Gamson's description of emphasizing the rich life of celebrities and their inclination to generate interest by the reader. In doing so, this article exposes the private life, and validates the lavish purchases of Jenner.]]> 2023-05-04 02:36:26 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2577589428 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578190703 2023-05-04 12:22:19 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578190703 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578197847 In Zizi Papacharissi's book "Trump and The Media", specifically the chapter "The Importance of being a headline" Papacharissi describes how headlines are designed by a media outlet to attract a readers eyes, and generate an emotional response or interest to the title. Describing the efforts media outlets put into developing a headline, Papacharissi  writes "Headlines must always be current... they are constantly revised, lest the attention of the readers... headlines become clickbait for a broad variety of news organizations and are used to attract eyeballs."(pg 73, Papachariss). In addition Papacharissi describes how a tactic of increasing interest in the article is to evoke a certain feeling in the headline, writing "The affect of headlines, that is, the mood, the atmosphere, the feeling headlines evoke both draws us in and further moves us emotionally."(pg 74, Papachariss). An article that emulates the importance of creating a dramatic, and eye catching headline is  "Again?! New Driving Drama for Justin Bieber" by Yahoo! Celebrity Staff. The headline alone evokes a feeling of astonishment and drama through the use of a question mark, and an exclamation point emphasizing Justin Bieber's driving drama. Once diving into the article we can find that even the authors recognize the power of "making headlines" as they explain how Justin Bieber has been all over the news cycle recently due to drama. Capturing this the authors write
"Once again, the 19-year-old drama king is making headlines for a driving-related incident. This one occurred on Monday night outside the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. As the "Boyfriend" singer and his bestie Lil Twist attempted to drive off into the night in Bieber's white Ferrari, the teen heartthrob allegedly hit a lurking paparazzo with his $200,000-plus luxury ride." Overall an interesting headline can act as a powerful magnet for the readers towards an article, which can be seen being employed by Us Weekly to attract readers to read about Justin Bieber.]]> 2023-05-04 12:28:26 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578197847 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578206308 2023-05-04 12:34:59 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578206308 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578209819 2023-05-04 12:37:33 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578209819 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578212747 2023-05-04 12:39:54 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578212747 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578216509
In "The Media Studies Tool Kit" by Michael Z. Newman, and important topic discussed was that of certain forms of media acting as distractions for the public from important political topics. Newman explains this by stating "Media can be frivolous and fun. and can be a welcome diversion from everyday troubles, but media can also function as a forum for citizens, or an engine for spreading disinformation... Media can also harm our potential to engage as citizens by feeding our apathy and disillusionment, by distracting us from matters."(pg 161, Newman). Clearly Newman is aware of the potential for the media to intendedly or unintendedly distract its listeners/readers from more important news, with articles about interesting tid-bits not pertaining to the main story. This is seen in the article "Who Is Natalie Biden? 5 Things to Know About President Joe Biden’s Granddaughter" By Dory Jackson, as instead of discussing the incredibly important event of the presidential inauguration, and what it entails for the future of the American people and betterment of justice, Us Weekly writer, Dory Jackson, writes about the president's grandchild's outfit. Specifically she writes "Natalie is one of President Joe Biden’s seven grandchildren. After attending her grandfather’s inauguration in January 2021, she made headlines and drew buzz on social media for her stylish monochromatic pink ensemble. She wore a custom bright pink coat from Lafayette 148 New York with a matching protective face mask and scarf. She paired the look with tan knee-high boots." Even though this article was interesting, it is important to recognize the importance of the inauguration and stay focused on that topic, than to be distracted by smaller details that generates more gossip, which Newman warns about.]]> 2023-05-04 12:42:32 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578216509 dmeirowitz https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578219375 In the document "Our Celebrities, Ourselves" by Neal Gabler, Gabler describes how in the modern form of the media simple facts and updates about celebrities does not sell today. Instead the media resorts to developing drama filled stories about celebrities that catches the attention of the audiences and promotes selling articles. These stories act almost act as a performance themselves, as they develop celebrities into real life characters who live out interesting stories for the audiences entertainment. Describing this Gabler states "When you think of celebrity as a form of narrative art -- the romances and divorces, the binges, the dysfunctions, the triumphs, the transgressions -- you can immediately appreciate one of its primary appeals, which is the appeal of any good story. Boorstin was wrong: Celebrities aren't known for being well known. They are known for living out real-life melodramas... and the media, always in desperate need of a story, are only too happy to oblige ." Us Weekly is able to sell articles by exploiting the drama between people in a gossipy romance in the the article “Everything to Know About “Vanderpump Rules'' Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ Cheating Scandal, Ariana Madix Split” by Paige Strout. Strout discusses the gossip behind the scenes of the show, of how Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix had broken up because of a love triangle with Raquel Leviss. Strout is able to capitalize on the drama and build an interesting story of love and deception by describing the "tea" and drama that has been spreading in the wake of the cheating event. Strout writes :SUR-ving up the tea. Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss’ drama has quickly become one of Bravo’s biggest scandals ever. Us Weekly confirmed on March 3, 2023, that Sandoval and Ariana had broken up after nine years together after he cheated on her with Raquel." To generate even more conflict and gossip, Strout includes a section in the article that chronicles the social media reactions of the cast of Vandurpump to the news. She writes "Several members of the Pump Rules cast took to social media to share their reactions to the split. “Hope you all feel as sick as I do," James captioned a screenshot of an article about the news via Instagram, adding, "This explains everything."...In response to Sandoval calling her "overly douchey" in an interview, Lala Kent wrote on her Instagram Story the day of his and Ariana's split, "I’ve seen you for who you are for a long time, and you don’t like that. But, I think now is the time for you to shut the f—k up." By developing a gossip and dramatic filled narrative through the use of quotes of co-stars and opinions, and not the actors involved themselves with straight facts and information, Strout is able to sell a story of a dramatic love triangle between three actors, which is something audiences are eager to read.]]> 2023-05-04 12:44:37 UTC https://padlet.com/dmeirowitz/gh9tyinxilgaibrd/wish/2578219375