Desirable people

Identifying social values through celebrity news

Bibliographic Data

ID11267097
AuthorsValérie Gorin (0000-0002-7614-3177, University of Geneva, corresponding author), Annik Dubied (0000-0001-9164-8168, University of Geneva)
Year2011
Volume33
Issue4
Pages599-618
Publication date2011-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0163443711398695
OpenAlexW2038443430
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited25

In this article, we define the notion of ‘celebrity news’, emphasizing the fact that the portrayal of film stars embodies the imitable and the inimitable and, consequently, points towards values. In that context, we discuss the results of a thematic content analysis of a wide corpus of the daily and weekly European, French-speaking printed media to reveal which values are highlighted in celebrity news; we also compare these results with the contemporary values which emerge from recent European and global surveys of values. We then compare the various types of printed media. Finally, we focus on a specific aspect emerging from the main content analysis: the ‘meltdown’ or ‘fall from grace’, which records the decline of a star figure. Such narratives are good examples of syncretism in values, in which very contradictory attributes in celebrities are made to coexist, yet in which the subversive aspect of such a confrontation is passed over. We conclude by showing that the widespread negotiation of different values perceptible in reporting on celebrity figures is a sign of an era of change and re-evaluation, and therefore deserving of study

Advertising · Art · Content analysis · Context (archaeology · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Negotiation · News media · News values · Political science · Qualitative research · Sign (mathematics · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Cultural Differences and Values · History · Law · Mathematics · Social and Cultural Dynamics

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