Fred emails:
In an era of Paris Hilton, Britney, etc., the answer is: nothing. Gossip is what the media puts on the front page when they want someone to buy their rags. Gossip is news.
All of this reminds me of something I saw when I was growing up in New York.
I used to watch the 10:00 evening news on channel 5 (WNEW), which was a fairly good news broadcast. At the end of the broadcast they had a syndicated gossip segment by Rona Barrett. One could easily tell that the newscasters hated the gossip section–they thought it demeaned their broadcast.
One evening, one of the news reporters reported a story about a man who was arrested for beating his wife. The police came and arrested him. One of the arresting officers asked him, "Why were you beating your wife?" His answer: "Well, she did something wrong, and that was her punishment." Without missing a beat, the news reporter looked at the camera and said, "And now for your punishment, here’s Rona Barrett."
I’ve got an interesting assignment next week. The LA Times website has asked me to take part in a debate with blogger Luke Ford. They call it a ‘dust-up’. The subject is gossip vs. news. I’ve been asked to represent the traditional media, and Ford will stand up for the blogosphere.
He already has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to what I do for a living…
If you care to read the conversation next week, check out the Times online Opinion page and look for the feature called Dust-up.
