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You are perhaps not an outlier in the HN crowd, but gossip is popular. Very popular. * online: TMZ is ranked 125th most visited in the US by Alexa, ahead of we
by karmelapple 12y ago
You are perhaps not an outlier in the HN crowd, but gossip is popular. Very popular.
* online: TMZ is ranked 125th most visited in the US by Alexa, ahead of webmd, drudge report, and even gmail
* on TV: did you know TMZ has its own late night television show? Not to mention Access Hollywood and I'm sure a few I'm forgetting
* even in print: many publications have stopped printing, but not Star, the Enquirer, and similar ones. You can still pick them up at the checkout line in most US grocery stores.
- darkandbrooding 12y agoI can't remember the man's name now, but I once read an interview with a NYT gossip reporter who worked up until the 1950s. He said (and I'm paraphrasing from memory), "gossip is rich people dealing with problems that money can't solve." Apparently the modern incarnation of gossip reporting took shape during the Great Depression, and was a way to humanize people whose fortune and fame made their lives seem wholly separate from their fan base. Gossip permits a person to live vicariously through the celebrity, and creates the illusion of something more inclusive than a simple producer:consumer relationship.
- icebraining 12y agoEven on HN, the cult of personality is very noticeable, it's just that we care about different celebrities and different aspects of their lives.
- trhway 12y agoThou shall not worship idols.