The Journalist as a Celebrity

Often times journalists are seen as celebrities rather than reporters. Journalists can become celebrities by covering other celebrities, putting on a certain image that appeals to the public, or by covering a touching story, such as when Anderson Cooper covered Hurricane Katrina, the story that gained him his fame.

So a journalist being well-known isn't that big of a deal, right? Wrong. In fact, it can cause various problems for both the reporter and the public. How?

Let's discuss the reporter first. When a celebrity shows up at a scene, his or her presence can change that scene dramatically. This makes the role of being a celebrity journalist much more difficult because their purpose is to report what is happening naturally in the world without it being contaminated by the presence of a celebrity.

One example of a celebrity journalist is Diane Willis, who was a television news anchor. Many of the stories she covered were designed to enhance her image, even though those were not the stories that she wanted to cover. When she was asked about sports, she was supposed to smile, giggle, and get the answer wrong. Her management made her put on a fake image regardless of what she wanted. Is this ok?

Personally, I don't think it is. As journalists, we are supposed to present the truth to our audience, and acting like someone you are not and covering stories that make you look better is not being completely truthful to your viewers. People want to see real reporters acting like real people, not some made up personality that doesn't exist.

The following is a video of when anchors Clyde Lee and Diane Willis retired, which thoroughly portrays them as the celebrity journalists they were.

Now let's talk about the public. What kind of problems can celebrity journalists cause them?

First of all, the public has no idea whether that reporter is actually credible or just acting like they are. People want to believe that the reporter is genuine, but that is not always the case, such as with Diane Willis, whose image was created for her. Also, people will begin to look at at you as being part of the entertainment medium rather than being reporters presenting real news. Having the appearance of a celebrity journalist, especially when they are interviewing another celebrity, combines the news with entertainment. Is this a problem? Has the focus of news moved too far to the coverage of celebrities and lightweight issues?

I think that this can definitely be a problem. When all reporting suddenly becomes entertainment, people will no longer be informed about the important things going on in the world. However, some entertainment can be ok as long as it is used with judgment and not to excess. This allows people to receive the important information without getting bored.

Another problem occurring today is that celebrities have become more credible with young people as reporters. For example, MTV had celebrities such as Christina Aguilera and Drew Barrymore interview presidential candidates in order to appeal to the younger generation. Reporters that are not well-known are slowly losing the interest of their viewers.

Overall, the journalist as a celebrity is not necessarily a bad thing, but they need to be aware of the problems that it can cause and learn how to handle them properly.