The internet has caused news stories to progress from paper to bytes, making it more accessible and readily available. Simply introduce your story with a click-bait title, and watch the view count rise. However, with this increase in demand for news arguably comes a decline in the quality of stories selected as "newsworthy".
Now, whether you find any of the stories printed in The Daily Mail as "news", is another story, but I at least feel articles should have some kind of point to them. Note this story which popped up on my Facebook page today, depicting a member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan shockingly...wearing a wig during a photo-shoot. While I don't "keep up" with the Kardashians, as much as keep them at arm's length, for some reason they are always newsworthy. I just can't fathom how someone spent the time to sit down and write an article on the hairstyle or shade of lipstick someone wore during a photo-shoot, without wanting to seriously think about the life choices they were making.
The Daily Mail in particular has been criticised on its "sidebar of shame": the links to trivial stories down the side of their webpage, often reducing women to objects, and making a commentary on outfits they are wearing, or body shaming them. I don't understand what these stories achieve, apart from making catty women feel good about themselves and making a fat white man very rich. Some magazines elevate celebrities into ethereal beings, entirely Photoshopped, with diet tips such as existing on air alone. This is bad enough, but is it better to do the opposite, and bully celebrities so that the average Joe can feel better about their sad existence?
Some would say that it is better, as it shows how Photoshopped images are so unrealistic compared to a picture of the same celebrity with no Photoshop. This can help vulnerable young people know the difference and learn how to be healthy. Some celebrities, such as Lorde even compared photos of herself pre and post Photoshop to show how she thinks "flaws are ok".
However, sometimes the articles are simply about how so-and-so has cellulite, with no actual point to the story. I don't know who the people are who look through photographs and jump off their chair with a "Eureka!" moment when they see a flaw, but I wouldn't like to meet them. Not to mention the fact that 99 per cent of these stories are about women. On a similar thread, a recent study shows that, while men on magazine covers are portrayed simply as themselves, women are usually hyper sexualized. This isn't only in men's magazines, but across the board.
I could go on and on about patriarchy in the media, or I could end on the fact that I think stories that are described as "news" should be slightly more substantial than whether a person has gained a few pounds. And of course a celebrity is going to wear a provocative outfit if they know it will be reported on! Maybe don't take the bait next time, and we won't feed this culture of people being famous for no reason.
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