Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Independent Project: research cont'd

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Negative effects of tabloids

A tabloid is often a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local interest stories and entertainment, sometimes distributed free of charge, or a newspaper that tends to emphasize sensational crime stories, gossip columns repeating scandalous innuendos about the personal lives of celebrities and sport stars, and other so-called "junk food news".

The word "tabloid" itself has several definitions. In 1884 it was trademarked as a name for compressed drugs. The connotation of "tabloid" was soon applied to other small items and to the "compressed" journalism that condensed stories into a simplified, easily-absorbed format.These papers were commonly identified with boisterous, brief news content, an abundance of pictures, some fiction, and often they blatantly appealed to the human interest in crime, sex, and disaster. One definition of tabloid from Webster's College Dictionary describes it as luridly or vulgarly sensational. Tabloid journalism employs sensationalism as a device to capture readers' attention. Sensationalism is the use of material intended to produce a startling or scandalous effect, especially one pertaining to the senses.

The tabloids attempt to captivate or persuade the masses with their colors and headlines about wonderful, amazing, and even shocking stories. Persuasion is a deliberate attempt by one individual or a group of individuals to modify the attitude, beliefs, or behaviors of another individual or group individuals through the transmission of some message. These stories are not confined to newsprint. Although many tabloids come in the form of a newspaper or a magazine, today we have tabloid television and even Internet tabloids.

The political world is very much affected by this form of press. If someone had a choice of a story which highlighted Clintons foreign policy or a story which outlined the Presidents sexual escapades, which one do you think that they would choose? We all know that scandals draw a lot more attention than almost any form of media by playing on the public appetite for controversy.
Celebrity news is a staple of the tabloids, and sources for this information are everywhere. Each tabloid writer maintains an army of sources, including security guards, hair stylists, personal drivers and even police officers who will call the writer whenever they have new information on a celebrity. These informants are paid various amounts for their information, depending on the quality of the news and which celebrity it involves. Information about a minor TV actor might be worth a few hundred dollars, while a major scoop about Madonna or Britney Spears could be worth thousands.

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