Tabloid Journalism

“Bill Clinton: I Screwed Up With Monica” is what is the headline on the National Enquirer website yesterday morning, should we care? If so, why do we care? Celebrity tabloids have become a norm to us in society whether we like it or not. While standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for it to be your turn to checkout, we can’t help but notice the headlines on the magazines next to us reading absurd things such as “Michael Jackson found alive in Disneyland” or “Male able to give birth” and although we know how crazy these things look, we still find ourselves flipping through the pages and let our curiosity get the best of us. Tabloids are found in just about every vehicle of media, television, print, radio, and of course, the internet. According to dictionary.com, a tabloid is a media that contains news in a condensed form and much photographic material, and that features stories of violence, crime, or scandal presented in a breathtaking style. It’s come to a point in our culture where a person is completely unable to avoid the gossip that is constantly around us. Tabloids have become a major part of American culture, and effects the way a particular audience views the difference of the life of celebrities and their own.

American society is unbelievably fascinated with celebrities and what they do in their lives, that is why the tabloid industry is so successful. Sensationalism, the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement, is very much a part of the way in which tabloid journalists cover news stories that relate to extraordinary crimes, political scandals, and celebrity gossip. In society today, it seems as though there is less emphasis on finding out the real story and getting facts for the story and more on being the first journalist to uncover the salacious details on a high profile affair. Throughout the years it has become evident that celebrity culture has grown to