EOTO #3 Reaction

As a journalism major aiming to achieve a job writing and reporting as an entertainment journalist in the future, it may not come as a surprise when I tell you that I was most captured by an EOTO presentation on celebrity journalism. For years, I've loved watching shows such as Access Hollywood and Extra and getting buried in magazines from Variety to Vogue. I enjoy staying up to date on pop culture, especially the music side. Ask me about any recent celebrity feuds or gossip, and I'll most likely know the details. 

 

From what I gathered during the presentation in class, the first technical celebrity interview on record was John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. president, in the 1800s. Adams was supposed to get interviewed by a female journalist named Anne Newport Royall, who appears to be the first-ever female journalist. Cool! However, since sexism was oh-so-present at this point in time, Adams rejected the interview because he did not want to get interviewed by a woman, as he thought that a woman would be incapable of succeeding at interviewing a president. As if the job was too intimidating or something. Royall was not going to stand for this, of course, so she caught Adams off guard at his home while he was swimming completely unclothed and prevented him from exiting the conversation by hiding his clothing until all of her questions were answered. Royall seemed like a total badass. 

The more commonly known origin of celebrity journalism occurred in the early 1900s with a new publication called "Photoplay". Photoplay was a magazine filled to the brim with reports on the lives of celebrities. As the years went on, the term "celebrity" molded in meaning, ranging from politicians to actors to athletes! After a while, the interest of the public shifted from war and politics to makeup products and diets. Looking at celebrity journalism today, it is impossible to go twenty-four hours, even just one hour, without hearing or reading about some update in some celebrity's life. Examples include but are not limited to, Kim Kardashian's photoshop fails, Taylor Swift's genius lyrical easter eggs, and Rihanna showing up to the SuperBowl halftime show pregnant. I personally hear and read about these things by choice. What can I say? It's entertaining stuff!