Tabloid, Celebrity Internet Assignment - Research Paper Example

He suggested four categories for the purveyors of news, namely: elite, prestige, popular, and tabloid (Sparks and Tulloch, 2000, 292). It follows a hierarchical classification where the best is the elite and the tabloid - at the bottom rung - is typified by poor quality in terms of structure and content. The differences demonstrate a reverse progression of content standards - from objective stories that are factual and substantial, the additional use of images, the emphasis on drama, action, entertainment, simplicity and immediacy, to the pure sensationalized content that focus on scandals, celebrity and crime.

It is interesting to note that Paletz, identified TV shows such as American Journal, A Current Affair, Hard Copy and Inside Edition in addition to supermarket tabloids in the category of tabloid news (Sparks and Tulloch, 293). Rainwater supported this stratified characteristics when he explained the hierarchy and characteristics of taste and cultures are similar to the hierarchy and characteristics of the U.S. class structure, pointing out that the taste that a person develops can largely depend on his or her class origins, particularly the quality of education.

The idea is that tabloid media must cater to the low taste culture of a segment of the population that are not exposed to higher cultural origin - those that prefer “greater literalness” and the emphasis on action, as found in adventure stories, melodrama and violent sports (Rainwater, 2009, 356). Rainwater stressed that “taste culture often express the class concerns of their public” (356). This aspect highlights the cultural and social dimension to tabloid programming. The public reception to the Bonnie and Clyde movie demonstrate this position.

It was positively received by the audience across various class groupings. But the appreciation came from diverging perspectives. The elite saw the material as a critique to the American society whereas lower class public saw it as a crime thriller, one that shocks and entertains. A comparison to history or historical documentary/narrative is an excellent approach to highlight the nature of tabloid media. According to Glynn (2000), history “depicts the current regime as the inevitable expression of an unbroken continuity rooted in human nature and a presumptively teleological social evolution” (138).

The opposing approach is identified as genealogy, which focuses on discontinuity into our very being in an attempt to explore possibilities of the past and the future. As Glynn pointed out, the origin of tabloid media is aligned with its modalities since genealogy is all about depicting history “in the form of a concerted carnival” (138). What makes it appealing is the fact that it supposedly provokes laughter and entertainment as opposed to the sobriety and solemnity of pure truth. These points of view highlight the perception that tabloid media public tends to be drawn to fantastical materials that show extremely distorted truth in order to satisfy a thirst for entertainment.

Also, media today - through technological advancement - has become a public forum where producers of content sets the stage and the millions of spectators can access or watch at the same time, regardless of geographical distance and time. There are authors who consider the media and the entertainment industry as a battleground wherein important messages, images, issues and constructs