In these last two months leading up to the 2016 election, many Americans are looking for some relief from what many have called the most unusual election in this country’s history. After the antics of this week’s debates, even more people are looking for a diversion from the name calling spectacle that millions of U.S. citizens watched.
One of the distractions to the bigger problems of the world can be the fascination with current celebrity news. Whether you are following the latest entertainment news about the cast of The Big Bang Theory or tracking the progress of the unexpected divorce announcement of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, current celebrity news is easy to find. Social media feeds, for instance, are often full of the latest Hollywood gossip and current news about the highest paid athletes.
The Elements of News Mean That a Story Will Have Impact
No matter if you are talking about the news from papers distributed by young boys during the days of the Penny Press of you are talking about the internet news that is available from thousands of sources 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the same elements have always defined what news is:
Timliness When a story happens matters. For this reason, the really big stories immediately interrupt our daily lives. Through special announcements on the television to alerts on our cell phones, some news is so important we need to know about it immediately.
Prominence How important is the person the story is happening to? This is the element that often shoots currently celebrity news to the top of a news cast. Because everyone recognizes a name like the musician formerly known as Prince, for example, his death was widely and thoroughly covered. Less important names, on the other hand, may be pretty big news in a certain location, but may not carry the notoriety of a bigger name.
Conflict Whether the battle is man against nature or man against man, conflict also determines the newsworthiness of a story. Current celebrity news about the latest divorce or the latest screaming match between politicians go a long ways toward determining the news value of a story.
Proximity Where a story takes place is another factor in what makes news. If a small explosion happens a few miles from your home, that story will likely be covered on the local news. If that explosion does not result in loss of life, however, it likely will not be covered in television and newspaper stories hundreds of miles away.
Emotional Appeal Stories that tug at the hearts of consumers are very appealing. In today’s line up of news stories about wars that have been going on forever and a political season that seems to have no end, it should not be surprising that American news consumers are starving for those feel good stories that can make them laugh or maybe cry.
Many Celebrities Spend Their Efforts Promoting Worthwhile Causes and Charities
As many as 45% of adults indicate that they think celebrities can make a difference in the issues that they are promoting. Of that percentage, 11% indicate that the difference it makes is large; 33% indicate that it makes some difference. For instance, a celebrity who visits a part of the country that has experienced a natural disaster can bring much needed attention and donations to that locations. A country music singer who goes so far as to perform a benefit concert to benefit the affected area can have an even bigger impact.
Current celebrity news often features the good that is being done by celebrities across the globe and around the country.
It may come as no surprise that the combined revenue for the celebrity gossip industry now totals more than $3 billion every single year. In their effort to gain the biggest audience or the most followers, reporters, bloggers, and news casters look for celebrity news that contains several news elements. Being the first, for example, to chase down a story about Will Smith, one of the film industry’s most highly paid actors, is important because timeliness will always matter. People cannot wait to hear more about the actor whose films have grossed over $100 million!