Celebrity gossip is something that reaches the mouths of every individual in America. It's a known fact that it's irresistible to not talk about. I myself find it interesting to talk about celebrities and the drama that may revolve around their lives. If we think back to the beginning of celebrity gossip, its very different from where it is today.
He at first refused to meet with her because he heard she was a woman reporter and didn't think she could handle interviewing a president.
When he refused to meet with her she overheard that he liked to swim in the river in the morning without clothes on. Royall went over to the White House and waited for him to go swim in the river and then trapped him when he was in the water and sat on his clothes. She didn't leave until he answered her questions. This was in 1817.
We can go back even further into the late 1700's in London. There was a writer named James Boswell who wrote over 70 columns under the title "The Hypochondriac" that were published in London Magazine from 1777-1783. This was a gossip column about town news and public happenings that were going around. He even wrote about public hangings in the town to keep people informed.
During the Regency era newspapers and pamphlets were dedicating sections to local gossip and juicy stories going around. The hit Netflix show "Bridgerton" represents this in a very real way. There was a weekly pamphlet on the show that had everyones drama printed in it for the whole town to read like a fiction book; except it was actually peoples lives and their business.
A popular magazine published in 1893 called The Sketch magazine would publish articles about gossip around the royal family and high class members of society. This was the start of gossip in print over in England but not yet in America.
The start of American gossip doesn't come until 1911 when the first gossip magazine was published. Photoplay was a magazine filled with articles about the inside lives of celebrities.
The word celebrity was changing in America at this time. It went from politicians and soldiers to actors and baseball players. No one wanted to read about soldiers after war anymore but rather if Marylin Monroe was using a specific makeup brand. Photoplay was filled with articles to this nature.
It was the first magazine to be exclusively celebrity-based news. This was also the start of interviewers asking celebrities about their personal lives. It was always impolite to bombard someone about what was going on in their regular, day to day life.
When celebrity magazines came out people just wanted to know what they were like when they weren't acting. Fanbases grew from magazines like this because they felt more connected to the celebrity by learning what foods they eat in the morning and how they prefer to line up their records.
Radio and TV also contributed to this majorly. Since these two inventions made it easy to view shows and movies there were more and more stars that were emerging. People became fans because they always saw this person acting on TV. It became a thing where celebrities were more than just people they were like heroes. With film came publicity.
Today there are so many different ways we can find out about celebrity gossip. The most popular that can be found in almost any grocery store, gas station, or hair salon is People magazine. The first issue was published in 1974 and has been reporting on the lives of celebrities ever since.
Other tabloids have since emerged and even different forms. There are TV shows such as "Access Hollywood" and "Entertainment Tonight" that also report and talk exclusively about drama in the world of celebrities.
Social media today has had a huge impact on the limits people have with celebrates. You can now interact with your favorite singer by leaving a comment on their Instagram and tagging them in a Tik Tok video.
We have a lot more interaction now than we did back in 1911 by reading a Photoplay magazine. Our media has been infiltrated by celebrity gossip news. It has taken over our social media in every way and has become a part of our lives. No person can go one day without hearing about something happening in Hollywood or about a new singer who just had a baby.
Celebrity gossip is a good way to stay informed about our favorite stars but it gets to a point where we have to realize they are people too. It would be awful to find your secrets splashed across the front page of a magazine read by millions.
Celebrity journalism has made its impact on the world and will now forever be apart of our everyday media.
https://boundarystones.weta.org/2020/08/03/anne-royall-and-presidents-clothes
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/jan/26/photoplay-magazine-hollywood-film-studios-stars-celebrity-culture
https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/shondaland-bridgerton-behind-the-scenes/a39576200/the-history-of-gossip-columns/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25154085?seq=6
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