Do you think we care more about celebrity gossip than serious news?
Bono manages to use his celebrity to tackle serious issues
An interesting topic came up this week from the Canadian Answers team. They featured a celebrity question from Montreal based Associated Press reporter Amy Luft. She is asked the community What would it take to make people under 30 more interested in serious news issues than in celebrity gossip?
Many of the young people who have answered so far disagree with this statement. Adrymustdie says “I’m under 30 and detest celebrity gossip” and Jo confirms: “your stereotyping by saying people under 30. I am 18, and could care less about celebrity news!! I find it such a joke”
Perhaps it’s not just young people who are more interested in celebrity gossip? Having a look in the Celebrities subcategory (one out of the eleven Entertainment and Music subcategories), there are well over 700,000 resolved questions discussing things such as Who do you think is better Selena Gomez or Demi Lovato? and Do you think Kyle Sandilands should be sacked?
On the other hand, in the News & Events category, there are 400,000 resolved questions on everything from Will you stop buying clothes from Bonds & King Gee now they won’t be Australian made? and How will the Australian government stimulus package help?
Interestingly though, the most popular question in News & Events is from Bono, who asked What can we do to make povery history? 3 years ago. He got a phenomenal 26,000 answers to his question and, while he is a celebrity, his question also demonstrates that perhaps people do care about current events more than we think. It also confirms that combining the power of celebrity with serious news is definitely one way to get attention for the cause. On the flipside, the most answered celebrity question was What will you remember most about Michael Jackson? with 6,416 answers.
In fact, most of the News & Events questions have more answers, and those answers are well written and intelligent responses to some of the world’s biggest issues. It begs the question, do we actually care about more serious news issues but just don’t know what to do about them? Perhaps places like Answers is one of the few places where we get the opportunity to voice our opinions about important issues like World Poverty and is also a place where we can get advice about the more confusing aspects of serious news?
What do you think? Do you think we care more about celebrity gossip than serious news? And if so, how can we get more people to care about the big things in life?
Caitlin
Community Manager
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Who cares about the economy when Michael Jackson’s dead?
Who cares about the celebrity gossip anyway. It eats into the serious news and how many times has it been proved false anyway. I don’t buy the gossip mags as they sensationalise every comment the Celebrities make. Roll on serious news and perhaps people will start caring for our world once they realise what is really happening out there.
Very few people give a toss about so called “celebrities”, it is only the delusional and gullible that get caught up in the publicity. The fact that they may be well known is irrelevant, it is just that people want something to read and digging into someones life for some people is of interest to them. They are a joke that people like to make fun of, like those sad characters in a teen movie that like to think they are “cool” because daddy has money but really everything thinks they are complete tossers. It is not the public that is obsessed with “celebrities” it is the media that shove it down peoples throats.
Bono uses his “celebrity” to tackle serious issues. Guess what genius, if it were not for “celebrities” sucking every last drop they can get out of of the economy and squandering money on Lear jets and 6 mansions each, there wouldnt be any “serious issues” to tackle in the first place; you are not the solution to their problems, you are the cause.
What I hate is when celebrity news gets mixed with real news. Every speculation as to that father of Michael Jackson’s children is not real news!
I think we do care about celebrity gossip than real news. It is reflected on how we live our life, how we value other people and how we put our priorities. We become more materialistic and selfish. Those people who write those crap must earn tons of money or earn easy cash. That is why they keep doing it. Anyone could do it. Just have your camera handy and be able to construct sentences. It ’s no brainer.
Stupid people do.
generation x and gossip go together, slaggers at the best of times
I hate celebrity gossip, Alot of times they have Today Tonight. A current Affair etc with some story on a celebrity, My husband and I usually switch the channel! Same with stories son Fashion, models etc… Hate it…Dont care… They live in la la land! I am more interested in the news about REAL people..
Of course people prefer gossip to real news. You only have to look at the rubbish on the front of most “news” sites. The women have to take the blame for this one. They are obssessed with rubbish doesn’t matter – who’s dating who, what brand of clothes is she wearing, look how much weight she’s gained. You don’t find men talking about this stuff (real men – not the moisturiser wearers).
sadly yes we do, it’s really quite pathetic really when you think about all the things that we should be focusing on like the economy, health alerts, etc… but no, we need to know who’s dating who and if they’re really getting married. I know it’s a way to escape the hassles of everyday life (which we all need a bit of) but when the news media starts paying more attention to the celebrity who shop lifted something instead of the serial rapist on the loose; there’s something truly wrong.
I hate celebrity gossip but many magazines, including those that call themselves “Women’s Magazines” that run these trashy stories would go broke if bored people actually got a life. It is not only the print media though. radio and TV staions are every bit as bad. These celebraties act like animals and we can’t get enough of the gossip but if any of our sports people step oout of line they are crucified. Find a hobby, get a job or take up sport and forget the over paid trash.
i love gossip news more than real new i watch tmz,et everyday i watch e on foxtel all the time and i but all the gossip mags u should she how much i spend on those mag i even but the usa gossip mags on ebay so yeah
Absolutely…yes.
The world I’m living has been dumbed down to the extreme. The music is shallow with nothing to say….a reflection of the idiots saying nothing. But if you look good, cool, famous etc then you’re important. The world sucks big time at the moment and I’m ashamed to be a part of it.
It’s the media that is obsessed with so called “celebrities” these days you don’t have to have talent or do anything except be on reality TV and you are an instant celebrity and the media follow them around like sick idiots and try to get pics of their children and families…this is so ridiculous!! I get so angry when i see a serious problem with children starving and dying and on the front cover you get silly stories abouot Paris Hilton or some dopey idiotic vain fool on the front covers of papers and magazines….stupid…very stupid…why bother getting an education and becoming someone special when the media make idols out of trash….
hey, do you know why the chicken cross the road?
A good majority do seem to be celebrity obsessed. However the mindless media keeps pushing it as if it’s newsworthy. Far to much emphasis nowadays on shallowness & “fun”. Fun is fine, but get a grip on the important things in life first.
Theres a whole world of news happening out there. The media circus is turning the human race into a mindless race with no motivation, drive, and no life so they have to live someone elses. I looked at yahoo frontpage today and what do I see? j-lo looking good at forty and Britney getting dumped. Wow, thats something we all need to know. People are getting killed in Afghanistan and Iraq and we’re supposed to give a flying fox about j-lo turning forty. Good for her. She’s the worlds first person to turn 40.
while people are checking out others’ backyards they can forget about their own! who gives a hoot about what the celebs are doing? except for one tiny little revelation that so many forget… when you read about celebs do you feel like you are reading about yourself? mmm…. who is reading all this and who agrees or disagrees? think about it guys…when you read an article about a celeb do you relate to them or yourself in your life? and do you feel their vibes? c’mon! and at the same time, when yuou are reading aobut them if you dont relate then do you think and gossip[ about them so much you forget about whats going on in your life??? Thank God for the celebs – they take the pressure off all of us so we can get on with our lives in peace! pooor buggars! how bout we give all of them a break for 5 (five) minutes and focus on our own lives so they can focus on theirs! good suggestion or what!!! ILYALL…. XO
What’s more! i dont give a fig what any of you say ever! Love is the answer~! and always has been! ok? you can walk all over me ; you can take away all material ; you can even turn my freiends against me and no matter what …. i will always and always say that LOVE is the answer!!!
unasked for in this section i know but it is asked for in another and i dont care… if everyone just lived for love ~ all would fall into place where it belongs!!! LOVE does solve everything… love of self brings love for those you love brigs love for your friends brings love for your surroundings brings love for all you do (inc work which you dont call work: its somehting to do!) brings love into your home breings love into children or procreation brings love … right back to the beginning!!! it is called Love thy Neighbour and Everyone on your street then All Is Well!!! I Love You All!!! xo
of course we care more about gossip and sensationalism than series news….thats why they created the bull*** called ‘TODAY TONIGHT’
Why are these people important with their petty and overrated lifestyles. More time is spent by magazines and media on these people who are really of little concern, (the world would go on without them) than with people doing good things for humanity like Mother Theresa did or saving animals from appalling conditions.
There is real news in the world of vital importance to us all. Let us go back to the old style of reporting on genuine and interesting events and not glamour balls and who won and Emmy.
Every morning I’d like to catch up on some relevant news and the weather but your programme has become as shallow as ditch water. Kochies comments alone lower the combined IQ of the team by several degrees. It really is not attractive to turn ignorance into something to be proud of, as you do, (Nat excluded). It would be a kindness if Kochie stuck to finance and Melissa’s cloying sweetness is not much better. Please don’t pretend to be journalists! Thank God for ABC2!
Sh!t no, the media forces the crap celebrity gossip into the news. Why would I care if a certain celebrity does their own grocery shopping? Whoopdee-fucking-do
I think it all depends on how serious or how intelligent a person is. I have found that those people who just love to buy magazines that are full of celeb. gossip, do not have the intelligence or the ability to read a library book, or a serious piece of news in a newspaper, and they rely on pictures more than words.
I guess most people are a little curious about what goes on behind closed doors, but we never find out about ordinary people, because the media are not interested. They prefer to go after celebs. and so we are inundated with the same old pictures and the same old people such as film stars, TV celebs, Sports personalities. My opinion is that we should leave them all to get on with their lives without this constant interference. Most of the stuff we read is not true anyway, and we are forever told that the news is via a good friend. So much for good friends! The media must think we are all fools.
Its a sad fact that when actors etc use their celebrity to draw attention to a cause, oftentimes the real issues and the cause itself gets obscured by the celebrity themselves……for example most people know that Angelina is involved in humanitarian work, and this is REALLY good for her image, however do most people know which causes she supports? I have an issue with celebrities using “good causes” for self agrandisement.(if that’s how you spell agrandise)
Think Bono is is great though!
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. -Johann von Goethe