With specific reference to the mainstream news media in the UK
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With specific reference to the mainstream news media in the UK, write an
essay of up to 3,000 words critically analysing the sociologist Jean Chalaby’s
argument that journalists have little interest in informing or educating people
about the society in which we live, preferring to “bypass the social dimension
of individuals, address their fantasies and reconstruct a world of illusions
around their readers’ dreams”
With the mainstream news media continuing to produce many a story on
celebrities and famous people, Jean Chalaby’s thesis on journalists remains
dangerously relevant in modern society. The growth of the ‘celebrity’ as a source of
news content has led to many people becoming disengaged from the mainstream
news media, as people look elsewhere to find critical, serious news that is of
significant importance to society as a whole. However, with many people also
continuing to buy tabloid newspapers that choose to cover the celebrity world in
great detail, journalists are caught in a difficult position. Chalaby’s argument is that
over the last few centuries, journalism has changed from being serious news of
relevance to society, to becoming a source of news that, rather than educate and
inform readers by disseminating important political and social themes, provides
audiences with news they want, but don’t need. By doing this Chalaby argues,
journalists are ignoring their social duty, and are creating a generation who are more
interested in news like ‘David Beckham’s new haircut’ than political issues such as
the state of the economy. To address the issue, we must look in detail at the content
that the mainstream news media provides and whether this content is of any
relevance to society.
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“Celebrities are not born. They are made” (Rojek, C. Fame Attack. 2012: 27)
Chris Rojek’s quote perfectly describes the impact that the mainstream media has
had in promoting ‘celebrity culture’. The creation of celebrities by the news media
has allowed an entire generation of people to become celebrities – without achieving
anything of real note or purpose. In particular, the birth of the reality television era
has led to the spawn of the ‘talentless celebrity’, whereby people become famous
despite a distinct lack of commendable achievements. Programmes such as the X
Factor and Big Brother have made it easy for everyday people to grasp an
opportunity to become household names, often without having to work hard to
achieve it. The continued tabloid coverage of this form of ‘news’ has led to
sociologists such as Jean Chalaby giving evidence to suggest that modern-day
journalists are ignoring their role in society, of informing and educating people, and
are rather choosing to humour people by giving them news stories which they want
but clearly do not need. To look at this point in more detail, we must elaborate on the
points mentioned, and delve further into the many case studies which suggest
Chalaby’s theory may be true.
“The modern celebrity may claim no special achievements other than the
attraction of public attention”. (Turner, G. Understanding Celebrity. 2004: 3) When
Simon Cowell created the X Factor in 2004, his pledge was to unearth Britain’s next
musical superstar. While the show has produced many talented and successful
musicians such as Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and fomer boyband JLS, the ITV
programme has become equally renowned for providing a platform for outspoken
and bizarre personalities to enter the celebrity world. From Chico to Jedward to
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Rylan Clark, the talent show has produced many so-called ‘stars’, more famous for
their notoriety rather than their musical skills. Seemingly in each case, the talent
show has provided arrogant individuals, who do not necessarily possess much
musical talent, but rather are on the show for their entertainment value, with their
sometimes quirky and unique personalities. As a result of this creation, press
institutions have realigned their news content to serve the needs of those who watch
these programmes. Therefore if acts such as Jedward boost television ratings, by
the same logic using them as a source of news content will arguably boost sales of
the tabloid newspapers that continue to exploit them and the readers for their own
purposes.
“The celebrity develops their capacity for fame, not by achieving great things,
but by differentiating their own personality from those of their competitors in the
public arena”. (Turner, G. Understanding Celebrity. 2012: 5) With the vast growth of
reality TV in Britain, this can be used to describe the identikit of the ‘celebrity’ in
modern culture, that has spawned shows like the infamous Big Brother. Launched in
Britain in 2000, Big Brother is a reality television programme whereby, members of
the general public nominate themselves to live in a house totally isolated from the
outside world for a period usually lasting over two months. Along with a number of
‘housemates’, these people must remain in the house, performing weekly tasks all
under video surveillance. Viewers at home then have the opportunity to watch daily
broadcasts of edited footage gained from that specific day. The show has become
notorious for providing a platform for egotistical celebrity wannabes and has in a few
rare cases managed to create ‘celebrities’ out of people, often despite those people
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having no distinguishable talents. An example of this is the late Jade Goody. A
contestant in the Big Brother house in the third series in 2003, Jade Goody was a
normal person with no celebrity background. She came from a relatively poor family,
with her estranged father being a drug addict who served time in prison. Goody soon
grabbed the attention of the general public with her lack of general knowledge as
well her loud and brash manner. She quickly became somewhat of a villain in the
eyes of the general public for her outlandish behaviour and aggressive manner, with
some tabloids infamously referring to her as a “bully” and a “pig”. However, despite
this general perception, Goody went on to finish fourth in the show and
unsurprisingly made the most money from the programme, mostly due to her
controversial behaviour. As referred to in Graeme Turner’s quote at the start of the
paragraph, by uniquely differentiating herself from the other housemates, Goody
created a persona that – however much disliked and ridiculed – became impossible
to ignore for viewers and the media alike. With the constant coverage of her
behaviour becoming a regular source of news, Goody was developing a capacity of
fame that would change her life forever. On leaving the show, she became a
‘celebrity’ in her own right. “The celebrity is a commodity: produced, traded and
marketed by the media and publicity industries” (Turner, G. Understanding Celebrity.
2012: 9). Graeme Turner’s point perfectly symbolises the effect the mainstream
news media had on Jade Goody’s life as she rose to fame in a relatively short period
of time due to the media attention she garnered on a reality TV show. Following on
from her stint in the Big Brother house, Jade Goody went on to produce her own
autobiographies and TV shows, before she returned to reality TV, appearing on
Celebrity Big Brother. It was during this time, that her public image took another
battering from the media. Along with other housemates, Goody was accused of
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using racist language and bullying Indian housemate and Bollywood star Shilpa
Shetty. After being evicted from the show and amidst national uproar over her
behaviour, she publicly apologised for her behaviour. In a desperate attempt to
improve her image, Goody accepted a lucrative offer to appear on the Indian Big
Brother, Big Boss. However, just a few days into the show, she received news live
on-air that she had contracted cervical cancer. After flying home straight away,
Goody began treatment to fight the disease only to receive the devastatingly
crushing news that her cancer had spread and she had just months to live. As Chris
Rojek pointed out in his book Fame Attack, “it was at this point her public image
changed. The uncouth racist poacher of fame was suddenly rebranded as the tragic
prey of a killer disease.” (Rojek, C. Fame Attack. 2012: pp. 29-30). In the months
leading up to her death in 2009 she continued to be talked about in the news as she
married partner Jack Tweed, as well as deciding how much money should be left to
her two young children and other family members. However, it was her persistent
campaigning to ensure young women went for regular health check-ups that
garnered her positive media coverage. Her public image had changed so drastically,
that after her death, the Sun – the tabloid newspaper that had took so much glee
from ruthlessly targeting her – included funeral tributes as well as praising her for the
courage and dignity with which she fought the disease. In the years following her
death, she has been continually praised by the media and politicians, for helping
raise awareness of cervical cancer. The constant coverage of her life reflects why
Jade Goody is the perfect example of the ‘celebrity’ which Chalaby alluded to in his
thesis; with Chris Rojek perfectly describing her in his book Fame Attack. “She was
not adept at singing, dancing, acting or comedy. Yet she dominated British reality TV
news and was a major figure in popular culture for seven years from her first
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appearance on the Big Brother show, to her untimely death from cervical cancer in
2009.” (Rojek, C. Fame Attack. 2012: 165)
While shows such as Big Brother continue to create celebrities out of
‘talentless’ people, there are cases where, unlike Jade Goody, contestants disappear
from our lives as quickly as they entered the so-called ‘celebrity’ world. A case in
point would be the winner of Big Brother in 2009, Rachel Rice. An attractive,
intelligent young girl, Rice went on to win the show, but has seemingly disappeared
from the celebrity circus and now enjoys a relatively quiet life. The reason behind this
may lie in Graeme Turner’s quote mentioned previously about contestants
“differentiating their personalities from those of their competitors”. Whereas Goody’s
behaviour was seen by many as a ploy to ‘act up’ in front of the cameras to make
more money, Rice didn’t look to differentiate herself or ‘act up’, but rather chose to
be ‘herself’ – a decision which eventually led to her being crowned Big Brother
champion. However despite the fact she won the show and Goody didn’t, Goody’s
fame steadily rose from her experience in the Big Brother appearance, whereas bar
the odd chat-show interview following her victory, Rice has slowly disappeared from
our screens. The reason behind this can be seen as an example of how the media
create celebrities, with Goody’s outrageous behaviour while on the show,
manipulating the press to the point where she became impossible to ignore. In
contrast, Rice’s down-to-earth demeanour and charming personality made her
somewhat of a boring celebrity, one that would not be involved in scandals or
possess controversial opinions (both of which have become important criteria for
celebrity news in British tabloids). “The star at the pinnacle of the pyramid requires a
negative force at the base to legitimate celebrity prestige and sanction levels of
economic reward that would otherwise be regarded to be excessive”. (Rojek, C.
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Fame Attack. 2012: 161) This point can be used to further explain the difference in
coverage between Goody and Rice. With Goody becoming renowned for her
controversial behaviour, she became an easy target for the media as her behaviour
led to people watching the show and reading the newspapers to see what she would
do next. By doing this she became a star in the eyes of the media as by exploiting
her personality and behaviour they could boost sales and viewing figures. In
contrast, in many ways Rachel Rice proved to be the negative force that made Jade
Goody seem even more of a star than she already was. The lack of negative
publicity surrounding Rice made her ‘un-newsworthy’ in the eyes of the media as her
behaviour wouldn’t interest a general public who look for entertainment value in
contestants. However, a reason not discussed much may come down to the
backgrounds of both personalities. While Rice came from a middle-class background
which saw her receive a good education, Goody came from a poor lower-class
background, where she stated she didn’t attend school much due to having to help
her mother who, following a motorbike accident had lost the use of her left arm as
well as the sight in one eye. By this virtue, you can argue that Goody’s motivation
behind going on to the show was not only to propel her into the limelight, but also to
help improve the lives of her family members. While often being derided for using the
media to increase her fame and notoriety, Goody has created a better life for her
family, leaving a significant amount of her wealth to her two sons and mother
following her death.
Referring back to the title question, the role of journalists varies when
comparing newspapers. For quality newspapers such as the Guardian and the
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Telegraph, celebrity news and gossips are ignored in favour of serious social and
political issues. In comparison, the opposite can be said of the tabloid newspapers
such as the Sun and the Daily Mirror, who often choose to look for more
sensationalised stories about celebrities rather than more serious issues such as
politics and global issues. Despite this criticism, with sales of tabloids continuing to
outnumber sales of broadsheet newspapers, there clearly remains a demand for the
sensationalised stories which make up most tabloid newspapers. Deirdre O’ Neal
analyses the rise of celebrity news values in her book ‘No cause for celebration’. In
the book, O’Neal discusses how the “increasing influence of the red-tops has seen
the quality press embrace the banal, gossipy, celebrity content of the tabloids”. She
also goes on to say Former Daily Star reporter Richard Peppiatt wrote in a
resignation letter about the ‘skewed news values’ which had come to symbolise
tabloid newspapers. She goes on to explain how the media are “creating a dumb
culture that plays to the lowest common denominator among readers and audience
in pursuit of profits, while undermining our democratic processes”. (O’ Neal, D. No
cause for celebration. 2012: pp. 26-44.) O’ Neal’s explanation reflects the view that
the mainstream media have become so concentrated and focused on the ‘celebrity
world’, that they are disregarding their democratic duty to the people to provide
readers and viewers with news that informs and educates. By referring to the ‘lowest
common denominator’, O’Neal implies that the media have become so ignorant of
educating people, that they will provide the most basic, simple-minded news content
as to ensure that everyone understands and consequently maximises profit for these
media establishments. An example of this would be the death of Jimmy Savile in
2011, as noted by O’Neal. ‘With obviously no-one aware of the horrific truth behind
the celebrity’s life, (Savile was found out to be a prolific child sex offender) on the
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day of his death, the BBC chose to prioritise his death as the main news item of the
day; despite the fact that on the same day a suicide bombers’ attack in Kabul, killed
13 US soldiers as well as innocent Afghan civilians’. (ibid.: 30) The fact that the BBC
prioritised the death of a celebrity, over a terror attack that killed allied soldiers and
innocent civilians further emphasises O’ Neal’s point that the celebrity-driven
influence of the tabloid newspapers has filtered across to the quality press. However
the tabloid newspapers have not always received this sort of scrutiny. In Kevin
Williams and Michael Bromley’s article ‘Transformation of the Mirror’, they look back
at the history of the Daily Mirror. ‘With the newspaper enjoying its best years during
the 1940s,’50s and ‘60s, it can be seen that the newspaper does have a history of
quality journalism covering serious social and political issues. At this time serious
issues dominated Britain with the aftermath of the war and women’s’ rights being
examples of the many key issues that were getting discussed in detail in the
newspaper at the time. The Mirror soon became the best-selling newspaper in the
Western World, with a circulation of 5.27 million reached in 1967. An example of one
of the reasons why the newspaper enjoyed such a high popularity at the time was its
‘capacity to translate serious political issues into terms that even the politically
illiterate can understand’. (Bromley, W & Williams, K. Media History: Tales of
transformation, The Mirror 100 years on. 2003: pp. 99-102) This was seen as the
paper’s “distinct legacy” at the time, and is an example of how tabloid journalism has
a rich history in quality journalism. However following on from this era, in the 1970s
and ‘80s, with the newspaper ownership falling into the hands of men such as Robert
Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, the Mirror suffered a fall from grace in journalists’
eyes. ‘It was at this time that the newspaper got accused of ‘dumbing down’ news
with more sensationalised stories about celebrities filling the newspapers. Former
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Mirror journalist John Pilger claims this led to ‘corruption of journalism’ as the Mirror
embraced the ‘voyeurism’ and ‘non-news’ of the Sun’. (Thomas, J. Reflections on the
Broken Mirror. pp. 103-104) This once again reiterates Chalaby’s opinion that
modern journalists focus on providing news stories that readers demand but do not
necessarily need as cynical media owners such as Rupert Murdoch exploit readers
and viewers by giving them an unrealistic account of news by choosing to ignore
serious issues in favour of celebrity gossip.
“A culture impelled by its fascination with the image, the simulation, and losing
its grounding in substance or reality”. (Turner, G. Understanding Celebrity, 2012: 5)
In conclusion, it seems that Graeme Turner may have a point along with Chalaby.
While there still are many journalists more interested in providing real, serious news
rather than the shameful, celebrity gossip churned out in most tabloids, the reality is
that most people are fascinated at learning about the lives of those better off than
them. The vast expansions of reality TV shows such as Geordie Shore and The
Valleys has further exacerbated the issue as more and more ‘talentless’ people get a
shot at fame, that makes many watching envious. Yet it is through the general
public’s demand for shows like this that ensures these so-called stars become
famous in their own right. As a generation obsessed with the goings-on of these non-
celebrities, many people are ignoring realistic problems that affect us all both socially
and politically. Jean Chalaby’s thesis is a controversial viewpoint, yet sadly it is an
opinion which can be backed up by recent evidence within the mainstream news
media to explain the change in news values. By continuing to entertain people with
stories about celebrity gossip rather than inform people of issues around the world,
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journalists are doing a disservice to paying punters who want to be further educated
and informed about the world they live in. Yet with demand for the ‘gossipy’ tabloid
newspapers continuing to rise, journalists are left in a difficult position between the
demands of their audience and the principles and morality of their news values.
Total word count: 3,196 words
Bibliography
Books
Chris Rojek (2012). Fame Attack. London:Bloomsbury
Graeme Turner (2004). Understanding Celebrity. London:SAGE.
Online Journals and Articles
O’Neill, Deirdre (2012) ‘No Cause for celebration: Celebrity news values in the UK
quality press’, Journalism Education, Volume 1, Number 2
Kevin Williams & Michael Bromley (2003): Tales of Transformation: The Daily Mirror
100 years on, Media History, 9:2, 99-102
James Thomas (2003): Reflections on the Broken Mirror : The rise and fall of radical
journalism re-considered , Media History, 9:2, 103-121
Chalaby, J.K. (1998) ‘Journalists and their public’, The invention of journalism.
Basingstoke: Macmillan Press Ltd, pp. 183 – 193.
Websites
