TY - JOUR
T1 - Entertainment journalism as a resource for public connection
T2 - A qualitative study of digital news audiences
AU - Penney, Joel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - Entertainment journalism has long been a marginal object of academic inquiry due to its reputation as a trivial distraction from public affairs journalism, yet this view has since been challenged by scholars who emphasize its substantive role in political discourse. Although previous research has disputed the idea that entertainment news helps audiences forge connections with public issues, the present study renews this line of inquiry at a time when this journalism has increasingly become a driver of political reporting and opinion, particularly in tandem with activism efforts addressing the media representation of marginalized identity groups as well as celebrity-fueled public advocacy. In-depth interviews are used to illuminate the interpretive processes of US audience members who engage online with this news, outlining how it is used as a resource for navigating the politics of media representation, for making political meanings from celebrity culture, and for fulminating right-wing backlash to cultural institutions.
AB - Entertainment journalism has long been a marginal object of academic inquiry due to its reputation as a trivial distraction from public affairs journalism, yet this view has since been challenged by scholars who emphasize its substantive role in political discourse. Although previous research has disputed the idea that entertainment news helps audiences forge connections with public issues, the present study renews this line of inquiry at a time when this journalism has increasingly become a driver of political reporting and opinion, particularly in tandem with activism efforts addressing the media representation of marginalized identity groups as well as celebrity-fueled public advocacy. In-depth interviews are used to illuminate the interpretive processes of US audience members who engage online with this news, outlining how it is used as a resource for navigating the politics of media representation, for making political meanings from celebrity culture, and for fulminating right-wing backlash to cultural institutions.
KW - Hollywood
KW - cancel culture
KW - celebrity news
KW - cultural journalism
KW - digital news
KW - diversity and representation
KW - entertainment journalism
KW - news audiences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153289319&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/01634437231168310
DO - 10.1177/01634437231168310
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85153289319
SN - 0163-4437
VL - 45
SP - 1242
EP - 1257
JO - Media, Culture and Society
JF - Media, Culture and Society
IS - 6
ER -