It is no secret that drama and gossip catch our attention. The latest dirt on someone else peaks our interest even if we don't want to admit it. It is no wonder that tabloid gossip and yellow journalism has been around for centuries. To put it simply, it sells.
Every supermarket is loaded with tabloids as soon as you get to the register. Magazines like The National Enquirer or Star Magazine fill the display racks with ridiculous titles such as "Chimp's Head Placed on Human Body!" or "FBI uncovers Bat Boy!" Things that are so absurd that any one with common sense would shake their head at and wonder how that is even published, and yet, it has been published and sold for as long as there has been a printing press. Poorly photo-shopped images, a catchy scandalous title, and insanely falsified poorly, written story is all it takes to snag audiences left and right.
But that may be changing now. For decades, these saucy magazines were making a profit selling far fetched "news" (I use the term lightly of course), however, recent studies have show a decline in the selling of tabloid magazines. After further analysis in the matter, the answer as to why may have several elements all working against tabloid companies. According to the New York Times, even the top tabloids are struggling these days.
It is not that gossip no longer sells. In actuality, gossip sells even more now! Suddenly, tabloid news is becoming mainstream news. In my previous article (Brief 1 Bias in Cable News), I discussed how news stations are more like reality television now. There is more focus on the dirty details than the hard facts of the matter. The facts are more swept to the side and not emphasized like all the hearsay is. Simple reality, facts don't sell but drama and conflict will. Before, news stations did not report the same material as a tabloid magazine would. There was a clear distinct line, but news stations are businesses trying to make money also, and they are in the market to make a profit. Michael Boylan, vice chairman for the publisher for both the National Enquirer and Star openly admitted,
But it is not just People Magazine or news stations that tabloids are now in competition with. Social
media has also created a whole new outlet for circulation of gossip. Celebrity gossip and latest headlines circulate as content all over social media like wildfire. Everyone has social media now, and viewing the content on that is free versus paying for a magazine at your local supermarket. Social media is already making magazines obsolete. No one buys magazines anymore when the very same news is bright and virtual right in their hand, not to mention free to view in full. Tabloids are facing this hard reality too. No one wants to read their outlandish stories of "Dolphins Growing hands!" or "Titanic Survivor Found Down in the Ship!" when better gossip (or perhaps even the very same gossip) is there right on their smartphones with a click of a button. Everything is becoming digital, and tabloids are not adapting to this, and as a result, they are suffering.
The niche for tabloid gossip is not gone, but a with all things in the digital age, it is evolving. People are now their own tabloid reporters spreading and sharing the latest salacious gossip. People have not changed and the want for drama is ever present. It is just the format it is presented in is changing rapidly, and tabloid magazines are getting left behind.
But that may be changing now. For decades, these saucy magazines were making a profit selling far fetched "news" (I use the term lightly of course), however, recent studies have show a decline in the selling of tabloid magazines. After further analysis in the matter, the answer as to why may have several elements all working against tabloid companies. According to the New York Times, even the top tabloids are struggling these days.
“The biggest ones, Star, The National
Enquirer and The Globe have each lost about 30 percent of their circulation in
the last five years, with Star and The National Enquirer declining by more than
one million each.” Source
It is not that gossip no longer sells. In actuality, gossip sells even more now! Suddenly, tabloid news is becoming mainstream news. In my previous article (Brief 1 Bias in Cable News), I discussed how news stations are more like reality television now. There is more focus on the dirty details than the hard facts of the matter. The facts are more swept to the side and not emphasized like all the hearsay is. Simple reality, facts don't sell but drama and conflict will. Before, news stations did not report the same material as a tabloid magazine would. There was a clear distinct line, but news stations are businesses trying to make money also, and they are in the market to make a profit. Michael Boylan, vice chairman for the publisher for both the National Enquirer and Star openly admitted,
''When Zsa
Zsa slapped that cop, in the old days, the only people that would have been at
the courthouse would have been us and maybe the local Beverly Hills paper. The
last time Zsa Zsa showed up, there were 400 reporters and television crews,
including The New York Times. That's competition.'' Source
But it is not just People Magazine or news stations that tabloids are now in competition with. Social
media has also created a whole new outlet for circulation of gossip. Celebrity gossip and latest headlines circulate as content all over social media like wildfire. Everyone has social media now, and viewing the content on that is free versus paying for a magazine at your local supermarket. Social media is already making magazines obsolete. No one buys magazines anymore when the very same news is bright and virtual right in their hand, not to mention free to view in full. Tabloids are facing this hard reality too. No one wants to read their outlandish stories of "Dolphins Growing hands!" or "Titanic Survivor Found Down in the Ship!" when better gossip (or perhaps even the very same gossip) is there right on their smartphones with a click of a button. Everything is becoming digital, and tabloids are not adapting to this, and as a result, they are suffering.The niche for tabloid gossip is not gone, but a with all things in the digital age, it is evolving. People are now their own tabloid reporters spreading and sharing the latest salacious gossip. People have not changed and the want for drama is ever present. It is just the format it is presented in is changing rapidly, and tabloid magazines are getting left behind.
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