A Public That Is Hungry For More

Ben Clos

bc494010@ohio.edu

Keeping Up with the Kardashians

There are a lot of times the public is a sucker for any type of literature. If you notice that when you go into the grocery store they are't selling Dickens novels in the check-out lines. We are interested in things like Kim Kardashian and her poorly named baby. But more importantly her weight.

When the news was released that Miss Kardashian was going to be having a baby, the stories to follow would be about the loss of her coveted curves that turn into a thing of the past. At first the stories were just to point out the observation that she's gaining a little weight in her pregnancy (obviously). Then the stories turn into accusatory gossip as to the real reason that Kim got pregnant. Apparently, it was worth $22 million for to pay Kim Kardashian to have Kanye West's baby. How does a story about a celebrity having a baby turn into stories of getting paid to be pregnant? Apparently a source told Star Magazine that Kim got pregnant to help in her divorce case against Kris Humphries.

Just because someone says it, does it make it true and credible to publish?

Fiction 

It does make sense why people read tabloids. It is fun to read stories about people and their lives. For people who are not in the public eye, we see tabloids and their stories as a form of entertainment and a means to get the daily gossip on our friends in Hollywood. What we forget to realize is that these are people's lives. At the end of the day these celebrities have children, parents and close friends that know them on a personal level.

When these stories come from unnamed "sources," what is it that makes them credible? It's kind of like an 18 year old telling you what it's like to be at Woodstock in the '70s: What makes them an expert? However, tabloids have been doing it for years and they will do it for years to come, most likely.

When You Like It YouWant More

The public is a being that is constantly hungry for more. When we hear something on the news we want to know more. Think of when there is a car accident that is in a commercial for the 11 P.M. news. They tell you a little bit of information to get you interested in staying up for the news instead of maybe going to bed early that night.

Then as you watch the news the end of their segments before commercial break always say something like, "Stay tuned because coming up we will tell you more about that big accident on I-75." Then you wait up until they FINALLY tell you about it at the end of the news programming. Most likely the only reason you watched was because you were curious about what happened, not because they were related to you in any way, but because you were curious you stayed up to watch the news. This is why tabloids and other forms of gossip and news are so successful. We are hungry for knowledge and information. 

Get Educated

The public needs to understand how the media and journalists work and what their job is to the public. Journalists need learn to know what the public deserves to know and what means they need to go through to get there.