Prompt Cast
The Evolution and Challenges of Tabloids
TLDR Tabloids, like the Weekly World News, have evolved over the years and faced challenges such as co-optation by newspapers, declining circulation, and competition from mainstream media. They are defined by their focus on sensationalized stories, often attributed to someone, and rely on informants and aggressive legal tactics to gather information.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Tabloids, like the Weekly World News, have evolved over the years and have faced significant changes and challenges.
05:22
Tabloids, like the Weekly World News, are essentially gossip sheets that exist in comparison to legitimate newspapers and originated from the need for the working class to have access to cheaper and more emotionally engaging news stories.
10:25
Tabloids have a history of breaking ground and then being co-opted by newspapers, and the National Enquirer was able to increase its circulation by transitioning from gory crime scene photos to celebrity gossip and astrology.
15:36
Tabloids like People Magazine and Us Weekly have adopted tabloid-style content, such as celebrity gossip and plastic surgery disasters, in order to increase their readership and appeal to a wider audience.
20:41
Tabloids are defined by their focus on stories that may not be true, but are attributed to someone, often an expert or close friend, and they also tend to exaggerate and sensationalize small details.
25:54
Tabloids often rely on informants, such as security people, hairstylists, and nail salon workers, to provide them with gossip and dirt on celebrities, and they are willing to pay for this information.
31:29
Tabloids can get information from celebrities themselves, who may either fight against tabloids, stay low-profile, or play ball by leaking information and allowing their pictures to be taken by paparazzi.
36:55
Celebrities who want to avoid tabloid attention can do so by staying low-profile, but there are also many celebrities who actively feed tabloids with information and crave the attention.
41:59
Tabloids employ aggressive legal tactics, such as subpoenaing medical records, to deter celebrities from suing them, and they often use delays and financial burdens to make it not worth the celebrity's while to pursue legal action.
46:48
Tabloids sometimes get things right, such as scooping stories in the O.J. Simpson case and exposing scandals involving Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson, Gary Hart, and Rush Limbaugh.
52:19
Tabloids today have seen a decline in circulation and influence due to mainstream media adopting similar sensationalist tactics.
Categories:
Society & Culture
