Communication

Group Media Issue Analysis

T208
Joshua Christian Seth Lim Y W
S10164725G
Goh Qian Hui, Kimberly
S10164559K
Ng Zi En, Beatrice
S10162733D
Gan Kwee Cheng
S10166466C

Issues

A celebritys private life has been a heavily debated topic ever since their inception as public
figures. Their lives, especially that of reality TV stars such as the Kardashians have been widely
publicised, and sometimes even idolised by many. However, cases such as leaked photos of different
celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence have brought detrimental consequences to most of their lives. This
begs the questions; Is the private life of celebrities a concern to the general public? Some people believe
celebrities are considered individuals who heavily influence the general public and should be kept in
check, while others believe that they are mere entertainment workers that just do their job. In this essay,
celebrities are defined to be individuals in the entertainment industry, who are well known to the public.
Their private life would be everything outside of what they do professionally. This essay discusses
whether the private life of celebrities should be a matter of importance or interest to the public.

Celebrities are humans and have the right to privacy. This right of privacy is under Article 12 of
the Universal Declaration of Rights, which states, No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference
with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks (The
Universal). One example of invasion of privacy of a celebrity is when Jennifer Lawrence had her nude
photos leaked from a mass hack (Ensor). An interview with Vanity Fair revealed that she had expected
paparazzi to be annoying but not terrifying, sharing her fear and helplessness when the incident occurred.
Anger ensued when celebrity blogger Perez Hilton posted the nudes on his website which he took down
after a backlash. Lawrence strongly believed that being a public figure should not be at the expense of her
privacy, lamenting that people have forgotten celebrities are also human (Kashner). The Cultivation
Theory explores how repeated exposures to media content gradually shape our views of the world and our
social reality (Harris 28), explaining the lack of sympathy for celebrities. The constant stream of new
stories of a celebritys life caused people to become desensitized to their privacy and feel that such
incidents are called for. People like Hilton do not perceive acts like posting Lawrences nudes on his
website as wrong (Kashner). As a celebrity blogger, he is repeatedly exposed to the media and the lives of
celebrities and view leaked photos as part of being a celebrity. In this perspective, a celebrity's private
life should not be of any concern to the public as it has adverse effects on them. The public may also have
more empathy for celebrities if they are not put on a pedestal.
However, celebrities are opinion leaders who heavily influence the public. Celebrities like
Lawrence who have been personally affected by social issues like breaches to privacy are more willing to

talk about them publicly, sparking a discussion. Therefore, having the private lives of celebrities be of
concern to the public is important as celebrities influence their followers through information exchanges.
Due to the two-step flow of communication, opinion leaders like Lawrence are able to mediate
information the public receives from the media. They then discuss social issues that affect them with their
audience, stating their stands on the matter for the audience to ponder (Windahl et al. 70). Lawrence has a
large following, with her name having over 1,200,000 search hits on google, making her an influencer
(Jennifer). Through the leaked photos incident, Lawrence brought a positive change to the issue as an
opinion leader. reacting differently from other victims. Vanessa Hudgens publicly apologised for her
actions back when her photos were leaked in 2007 (Friedman). Lawrence, however, stood up for herself.
She told Vanity Fair, I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say I'm sorry for. Though
Lawrence found it difficult to talk about the issue, she wanted to keep this conversation going, fearing
that by keeping hush, it would make the crime excusable, encouraging others who face a similar situation
to speak up (Krashner). Such discussions eventually earned her support for the issue. Lawrence used her
power as an opinion leader to influence a change in peoples perception of nude photos. Before, many
celebrities who had their photos leaked were forced to make an apology despite being the victims. Her
speaking out for her rights made many people realise that the hacker ought to be the one apologising, not
the victims. In Lawrence's case, a positive change came from having her private life exposed. Celebrities
have the power to start a change and have a positive influence on people and thus, in such cases, it is
deemed almost necessary.

People commonly become fans when they admire a characteristic that someone has, leading them
to support that person. Most fans extrapolate the positivity of an attractive quality to other aspects. This
Halo Effect, casts them in a positive light and drives the need to know more about them (Cherry). The
media further builds this perception by exaggerating positive traits, leading to a distorted image of these
celebrities. Framing is a selection of a restricted number of thematically related attributes for inclusion
on the media agenda when a particular object is discussed (Griffin 370). Framing tells the audience how
to feel about the celebrity, by positively portraying them. Fans believe this as it lines up with their beliefs
and values, further enforcing the idealistic image they have, garnering interest from fans, driving
popularity for the celebrity and capital for the media. With this, it is easy to believe that their impression
is fact, albeit not knowing how celebrities truly are privately. Thus, when something opposes what they
believed the celebrity to be, they feel deceived. Justin Bieber was once depicted as a teenage heartthrob
(Im Now An Adult). This image was shattered due numerous controversial incidents that led to his
decline in popularity (Lisbon). One event was when he made a racist joke, inclusive of the n-word at a

private party, which was leaked and published in the press (Tran). This caused an uproar, with his fans
outraged at his use of the racial slur. From this, it showed an unattractive side of his personality. What was
shown in the media and who he actually was contrasted greatly. These wild antics were bad to the extent
that his record company gave him an ultimatum in dropping him if he continued such controversial
behavior (Chester). Subsequently, fans expectations would negatively affect a celebrity's image, as the
public would be upset that they did not meet their expectations. This also makes it difficult for celebrities
to get deals and sustain sponsors. Onslaught of hate from people who once idolised them might cause
emotional distress. Thus, through exposing celebrities private lives, it ultimately damages their career.
However, fans expectations can also influence the celebrities to do good deeds, positively
impacting their career. Although this expectation of goodness can serve to pressure celebrities by setting a
standard which they must always uphold, some celebrities use this positive expectation to do more for the
community. This happens when celebrities who often hear that they should be good complete this selffulfilling prophecy and adopt it as part of their image/brand. This positivity attracts the public and
deepens the fans admiration for them. Ellen DeGeneres, a celebrity, is well known to be altruistic and a
role model. She frequently raises awareness on social issues and donates frequently on The Ellen
DeGeneres Show (Ellen). People who watch her show will perceive her to be a generous person who
helps those in need. This perception will lead people to have the expectation that she will continue
donating and continue addressing social issues. The extent of the public believing in her was shown
through her attaining the Favourite Humanitarian Award at the Peoples Choice Awards for the charity
work she has done (Garcia). Celebrities, after seeing the fruition of their positivity will feel more
motivated to do good acts, which will be coveted by fans and covered by the press, spotlighting the
celebrity as someone with social responsibility. Thus, a cycle starts where people perceive them to be a
certain way and the celebrity supports this by living up to their expectations. This win-win situation
allows celebrities to garner followers while also upholding righteous values.

Media outlets, especially the paparazzi, can become intrusive with their pursuit for gossips from
celebrities. Actions taken by paparazzi may jeopardise the celebritys job and even their lives. The Uses
and Gratification Theory is an approach to understand why people actively seek out a particular group of
media to satisfy a specific need (Reinhard, Dervin). This translates to a scenario where higher demand for
pictures and information of celebrities increases the need for such news to be retrieved because they
reveal first-hand details on the private lives of celebrities. This demand, fuelled by supply from the
paparazzi, creates the unethical practice of obtaining such information, such as invading privacy. Leaked

privacies often result in damage to reputation for these celebrities, when information gathered is presented
falsely to the public. It is worse when irresponsible actions arising from news finding, such as relentless
pursuing, tailgating cars and even stalking endanger the lives of not only the paparazzi themselves but
also the celebrities. According to The Guardian, singer Lily Allen recalled an incident where in an
attempt to shake paparazzi off, slammed her brakes as she was about to hit a pedestrian. However, a
paparazzo who ran a red light to chase her, rammed into the back of her car. Instead of apologising, he
started snapping photos of her. Despite escaping serious injuries, Allen was shell shocked from the
incident (Saner). Paparazzi go to extreme extents to chase celebrities for the latest scoops which not only
intrude their privacies but also cause damage and injuries. The only way that might solve this issue is if
the public keep their hands off the private affairs of celebrities and be aware of how intrusive they may
be. Only then will the demand for such news decrease and eventually lowering the need for paparazzi to
unethically retrieve news they deem tabloid-worthy.

However, celebrities require gossip to stay relevant in the entertainment industry and society.
Reality stars especially need gossip to generate the buzz to keep the public on their toes. Through agenda
setting, the media heavily portrays reality stars as a significant and necessary part of the entertainment
industry by intensifying dramatic situations that occur within the reality show. Agenda Setting is defined
as the ability of the mass media to structure audience cognitions and to effect change among existing
cognitions (Harris 34). This means that the public tend to believe whatever happens in a reality show is
relevant to them and deem it necessary information to absorb. When the media heavily glorifies drama
and gossip through not only television but tabloid news, it creates a spectrum of different opinions being
voiced out surrounding the reality stars, keeping them relevant. The Kardashians, infamous for their
reality television series Keeping Up With The Kardashians, often exaggerate situations on their show,
making headlines for the most insignificant events like their recent attendance at a pool party. This
headline beat out articles such as oil spill issues that have a greater importance to current affairs,
according to Huffington Post (MacLean). This news generated mixed reactions from the public. Whether
or not such opinions are for or against the Kardashians, they nevertheless generate gossip that has them
on top of the game in reality entertainment. The continuous demand for gossip gives the paparazzi a
purpose to track the Kardashians. This demand and supply cycle outweighs the concern of intrusion of
privacy in the Kardashians' case, having already broadcasted their everyday lifestyles on television.
Therefore, though not always ethically retrieved, gossips can be a necessary evil for celebrities to stay
relevant.

After weighing both sides, the consensus would be that a celebritys private life should indeed be
of concern to the public.
The case study of Lawrences leaked photos addresses the fact that every human has rights to
their own privacy. Although a valid point, the fact that celebrities are also opinion leaders cannot be
unaccounted for. Lawrence, being an opinion leader, used the news coverage of the hack as a platform to
voice out her opinions about privacy, influencing her followers in the process. This would mean that her
private affair of the leaked photos had to be known to the public in the first place, in order for Lawrence
to talk about it to the media. Due to the publics knowledge of her private affairs, she was able to create a
greater impact regarding her stand on the issue. Therefore, having the private affairs of celebrities be
known to the public allows celebrities to use it as an opportunity to voice out their personal opinions and
influence their followers to make a change, as how Lawrence did.
Regarding how fans expectations can heavily affect a celebritys career, the example of Biebers
racist remark does explain how expectations from fans can be damaging for the celebrity. However, it
does not mean that their career is completely unsalvageable. After Biebers racist remarks got leaked, he
wrote an official apology for all of his fans, admitting his mistakes and claiming I am a man now
(Rothman). This helped him repent for his actions, and showed him in a more mature light. This shows
how fans expectations can also improve on celebrities attitudes and beliefs. Although fans expectations
are able to damage a celebritys career, it also gives them an opportunity to improve as a person.
Therefore, a celebritys private life should be of concern to the public, as it can also improve celebrities in
terms of their values and attitudes through their fans setting moral standards.
Finally, the point on media outlets being too intrusive, albeit being valid, is unavoidable. Cases
such as Allens car incident is an extreme example that cannot be predicted, as paparazzi are independent
photographers who take candid shots of celebrities undercover, making it extremely difficult to locate and
prevent them from being intrusive. The only way to prevent such things from happening is by
prohibiting paparazzi entirely. However, celebrities have followers that want to know more about them
due to them being opinion leaders and large influencers. The opposing point further explains that
celebrities require gossip, no matter positive or negative, in order to stay relevant to society through the
use of Agenda Setting. Paparazzi, being the main reporters for celebrity gossip, is thus a necessary evil.
Because of this, the dilemma between completely banning paparazzi and losing their followers interests,
and allowing paparazzi with the possibility of incidents like Allens occurring again, is brought to

question. However, the optimal choice is to allow paparazzi to gather the gossip that keeps celebrities
relevant to society, or else they would lose a large portion of their following. Therefore, although media
outlets can be too intrusive at times, it is a necessary evil.
(2483 words)

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