Five years after their romance ended, singers Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai were caught on what the media said was a date at a Taipei bowling alley.
First of all, I would like to make it clear that I'm not a fan of either Jay or Jolin; I'm also not to gossip about their relationship here. But the fact is that relationships between famous singers or movie stars are always the hot issues of some entertainment websites and magazines. It seems headlines of famous people's affairs will always attract attentions from the public. The only way through which people get to know about famous stars is the mass media. People always judge a star not only by what they observe by their own eyes, but more often by how stars are reported in a piece of daily news.
Nowadays, people seem to care less about the reports on popular stars. Of course there are exceptional cases, for instance, Edison Chen's scandal. However, one prerequisite for it to draw public attention and to spur wide discussion is to make sure the news sources are credible. Thinking of few years ago when I was extremely passionate in collecting stars' news, especially my favorite ones, I feel it is so childish and stupid of me to fully convince what reporters had written were the facts.
Years have passed, maybe it's improper for such a big girl to be that gossip, especially when the issues seem to have no interception with my life. What is more, years of experience have taught me that sometimes news itself is just for the sake of making news, so I'd better be neutral towards whatever I am informed with. However, I think it is high time for mass media as a whole, as an important tool to deliver messages to the public, to provide more reliable information. Effective communications emphasize taking responsibility for the things we talk about and the way we talk about them. Our constructions of reality, according to the Social Constructionist Model, often distort our communication. In this sense, I strongly feel it is of great importance how the reporters interpret the situations; they are in the control of whether the public is "informed" or "fooled".
So images can be made so that famous people can be modeled to be either graceful or graceless. To some extent, this could also be labeled as "communication creates individuals". For the case whether Jay and Jolin are in relationship again, it is for both parties of communication to take their responsibilities-- how one side's gonna deliver the message and how the other side's gonna interpret the message received.
I think it is quite true that audience have to question the credibility of the sourece. Also, "communication creates individual", this is quite true in the gossip case which sometimes can be true or fake. When the gossip is true, it won't impact the individual that much. However, when the news is fake, it will have a great impact on the individual. In this case, the entertainer will feel bothered. When the news make a great impact, it will create a new perspective. Indirectly, the news will lead the artist to act out certain act.
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ReplyDeletecommunication creates individuals - an interesting concept which is true in that a person means nothing unless they are known. and the only way they are known -whether to friends or family or the world (in tabloids) - is to communicate.
ReplyDeletemaybe that's the negative thing about being a celebrity is that whatever you do is being scrutinised and watched.
Media has a tendency to exaggerate or create news that is untrue. This is the method the media has been using to increase its profit margins or increase its viewership/readership. My sympathies are for these celebrities who seem not to have a private life or at times have their dirty laundry aired in public.
ReplyDeleteWe as the receivers of media should not absorb the full content of the media and instead should filter out negative information or take it with a pinch of salt.
The public media are the main forces which focus on drawing people's attention. Scandals as well as secrets are the major components that attract people. Some newpapers really cannot help revealing the celebrity's private info and the case of libel or slander occurs constantly.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent, it is not a decent way to gain profits because the behavior can disrupt the relevant person's normal life with ease. They are likely to be irritated and their images or "branding effect" may also be negatively impacted.
Sometimes, a celebrity, though as often known to many is seldom talked about if his or her name doesn't spark the attention of the media.
ReplyDeleteOnce their name is on the front page of the entertainment section, people will be reminded of them and naturally comes talking more about them.
We all know for a fact that Singapore being a first world country, but with a third world media. Sad to say what is published in the media is what we ought to know. And only by word of mouth or other forms of non controlled media can we find out matters which the third world local media does not want us to know of.
Therefore, it's only wise for the public to know that the media is there for a purpose and for a reason, and whether or not you want to believe it or otherwise is a personal issue.
Well i agree with the statement that communication creates individuals. When we communicate, we try to create meaning and saying words that are reasonable. Usually, we try not to say things that are unpleasant. This is because whatever we say will affect other' behavior towards us. Hence communication as a medium creates us in a way that makes us unique.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I disagree with the comment that Singapore has a third world media. How do you define what makes a "first world media"? Or rather, which country in the world has a so-called "first world media"?
ReplyDeleteDoes reporting the truth (and only the truth) makes the media better than the rest? If a particular politician accidentally said something wrong, which will incur the wrath of the general public and cause unrest, do you think that the media should still report it? The truth hurts sometimes. On the other hand, just the truth alone could also be lacking in entertainment factor. Not that I am a fan of tabloids, but I do believe in its entertainment value for many people.
As long as the media doesn't go overboard with exaggeration and propaganda, and it offers us a variety of information, it is good enough.
Because we have the internet :)
I thought that celebrities gossips are good ways that media can sell their news and magazines. Look at the number of chinese tabloids we have in Singapore, we even have a day and night edition. That shows how well tabloids sell. Without such juicy news of celebrities, such tabloids and magazines will have to fold and close shops. I believe this effect is amplified in Hong Kong because of the proximity effect, so the number of tabloids and such magazines would be even higher.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective. The function of media is to inform, not to mis-direct the public, even though it is the latter which is usually the case. This may have a particular influence upon young people who haven't yet acquired the skills of forming their own judgment. However, the media can be a powerful tool and used in a positive way. While excessive exposure of celebrities can be an infringement upon their privacy, appropriate exposure of politics can enhance accountability.
ReplyDeleteNot only disseminators but also audiences are very important if we want to communicate successfully .As disseminators , they need to have responsibility when they prepare reports . however , some media report subjectively or eventwist around the truth to pull in audiences but do not care whether their reports are actual .As for audiences , they have to judge the facticity of the reports which they read have read .
ReplyDeleteI do agree that mass media always lead us blindly as stated by the magic bullet theory, all recievers are passive while the media is in control. However, we can choose not to trust these media too. Of course, the chances of us finding out the real truth behind is tough which makes us the passive recievers.
ReplyDeleteWhat really sets me thinking would be, why are people so concern over the lives of such famous people? Why do we want to model ourselves after them, when we know that whatever we percieved through such media may not be trustable. Thus, recievers should starts questioning and seek to get the true news eventually.
I agree with the idea that media is the place for famous people to get even more famous and popular. Celebrity news are interesting for some people, especially the girls. But, all the content may not be 100% true as media will try to make the news more interesting than the reality. They will do it to make their media more well-known.
ReplyDeleteAs consumers of all these information, we need to be aware of the vast amount of information from media. Although it is hard, we should try to differentiate between true and fake information. So, be wise in absorbing information.
I agree with the author that media is the main source where we get our daily information updated. There can be some degree of exaggeration or totally made-up news about some famous celebrities. So, my attitude towards it is that we can take the news for entertainment, but cannot let the image of certain celebrity get destroyed only because of these unreliable news.
ReplyDeletei think the public medias are willing to confuse people ,because these can lead to public curiousness and a good way to sale out their publications
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