Tabloid television
{{Globalise|date=June 2025}}
{{Short description|Form of tabloid journalism}}
Tabloid television, also known as teletabloid,{{cite book|author=Giuseppe Novella|title=L'opinione pubblica ai tempi del 2.0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJkrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT95|date=6 February 2016|publisher=Gilgamesh Edizioni|isbn=978-88-6867-138-9|pages=95–}} is a form of tabloid journalism. Tabloid television news broadcasting usually incorporate flashy graphics and sensationalized stories. Often, there is a heavy emphasis on crime and celebrity news.[https://www.salon.com/1999/12/08/tabloid/ Tabloid nation|Salon.com]
Global perspective
The United States is not the only media market with this genre of broadcasting. Among English-speaking countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom all have tabloid television shows that reflect this same down-market, sensationalist style of journalism and entertainment, as do other countries such as France and Spain.{{Cite news |date=2011 |title=The very public life of Belén Esteban |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2011/01/10/inenglish/1294640443_850210.html}} Media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch can be seen as having transferred subject matter previously seen in print journalism to this television genre.{{Cite web |date=1999 |title=The Tabloid Decade |website=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1999/02/david-kamp-tabloid-decade |access-date=2025-03-25}}
In his book Tabloid Television, John Langer argues that this type of "other news" is as equally important as the "hard news".[https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203135211/tabloid-television-john-langer Tabloid Television|Taylor & Francis Group][https://books.google.com/books?id=pblPw6orC7AC Tabloid Television - Google Books]
Examples of tabloid television
Popular shows of this type include Hard Copy and A Current Affair.[https://ew.com/article/1990/06/15/guide-tabloid-tv/ A guide to tabloid TV|EW.com][https://observer.com/1999/12/steve-dunleavy-and-the-rise-of-tabloid-tv/ Steve Dunleavy and the Rise of Tabloid TV|Observer]
A commonly cited example of tabloid television run amok is a series of reports in 2001 collectively dubbed the Summer of the Shark, focusing on a supposed epidemic of shark attacks after one highly publicized attack on an 8-year-old boy. In reality, there were fewer than average shark attacks that year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/05/us/scientists-say-frenzy-over-shark-attacks-is-unwarranted.html|title=Scientists Say Frenzy Over Shark Attacks Is Unwarranted|last=Broad|first=William J.|date=2001-09-05|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-22|issn=0362-4331}}
Other examples include the coverage of 'missing white woman syndrome' stories like those of Chandra Levy, Elizabeth Smart, and Laci Peterson. Critics claim that news executives are boosting ratings with these stories, which only affect a select few people, instead of broadcasting national issues.{{cite web|title=A STORY FOR ALL SEASONS: Summertime crime stories are no longer confined to hot-weather months|url=http://www.newslab.org/articles/summersyndrome.htm|publisher=News Lab Organization|accessdate=8 June 2012|author=Deborah Potter|date=October–November 2003}}
See also
- Shock value
- Trial by Media - 2020 series about notable media-covered true crime stories
- Low culture
References
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Further reading
- Potter, Deborah (October/November 2003). [http://www.newslab.org/articles/summersyndrome.htm A Story for All Seasons] - American Journalism Review. Found at NewsLab.org (July 16, 2005).
- {{cite book|author=John Langer|title=Tabloid television: popular journalism and the "other news"|year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-06636-5}}
- {{cite book|author=Joshua Gamson|title=Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity|year=1999|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-28065-3}}
- Kearns, Burt (October 1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Tabloid-Baby-Burt-Kearns/dp/1580291074 Tabloid Baby]
{{Tabloid television shows}}
{{Media and human factors}}
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Category:Criticism of journalism