The first entertainment blog that I will examine is www.perezhilton.com which is probably the most well-known entertainment news blog in the world. The website was created by blogger "Mario Armando Lavandeira" better known as "Perez Hilton", which is a play off of Paris Hilton's name. The website receives millions of hits everyday and was ranked 491's most trafficked website on the Internet with a demographic of females between the ages of 18 and 24. That is more hits than any other news source on the internet, thus makes me ponder the question: What's the fascination with Perez Hilton?
The format on Hilton's site is very accessible and visually stimulating, where every individual story has their own template, headline, picture, with little writing, allowing the reader to simply scroll down onto the next story. This type of news format does not overwhelm readers such as other news sources that scatter a ton of stories onto their website, where the reader does not know which story to read first. Hilton makes sure you read the first story then allows you to scroll down if you don't like the story, putting the stories in order of entry, which is convenient and accessible to readers. The website also associates itself with the colour pink, which appeals to its demographic of females.
Not only does Perez Hilton report on entertainment matters but he is also an advocate for gay rights. In 2007, he reported that Cuban President, Fidel Castro, had died and claimed that he was the first news outlet to report it. This news story turned out to be false, in which later Hilton "regretted" reporting on it. This example, makes us question the legitimacy of blogs and if we should take what is reported on blogs as fact. We tend to forget that bloggers do not have journalistic training and we do not know where their sources are coming from, thus citizen journalism is not always accurate....but news sources are not always right either.
Perez Hilton started out as a blogger but the success of his website turned his hobby into a career. Perez Hilton has now hired writers who blog for him, and he has received many offers from ad companies who promote their ads on his website, which ultimately generates millions of dollars for him. Furthermore, he has used his website as a means of promoting himself and proclaiming himself to fame. For example, Perez Hilton has his own clothing line, book, radio show, fitness website, pets website, has made several TV appearances, reality show appearances, guest judge on Miss America Pageant and many more. In fact, Perez Hilton even parties and hangs out with the very celebrities he mocks on his website. This shows that blogging can turn into something more than just expressing your opinion online.The next blog that I am going to explore is www.dlisted.com which takes a satirical approach to entertainment news as opposed to a negative approach like Perez Hilton. Dlisted does not favour certain celebrities over others but bashes everyone instead. The blogger behind the website is "Michael K", whose sarcastic, humourous, and sometimes over-the-top personality defines his website. Michael K uses sexually explicit writing on his blogs that is meant to be humourous and receives a positive feedback from his readers, as Perez Hilton receives negative responses from readers. Readers often know what they are getting into with Dlisted because it is satirical and meant to be humourous, while Perez Hilton makes his insults personal with celebrities and is often only negative instead of humourous.
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Like many typical blogs Dlisted has the same format where each story is presented with a headline, picture, writing or a video, and is posted in sequential order, giving readers an option of scrolling to get to the next story. Michael K's overall writing style is very unique because he uses very explicit writing and obscene comments but yet they are not offensive but very witty and funny, while Perez Hilton just comes off as a bully and Michael K comes off as a funny guy. Dlisted also has a quirky attitude and presence on the website where Michael K will post silly videos or odd things that are on YouTube and has silly contests such as "Hot Slut of the Month" etc. The website can also be seen as a parody, ridiculing entertainment shows, seeing as he makes fun of the very existence of celebrities and replaces them with silly videos such as a kitten eating a pancake. If the public is interested in Lindsay Lohan shopping then they must be interested in a squirrel eating a walnut. Once again, Dlisted is an example of how people love hearing the opinions of others, especially when their opinions are outrageous and uncensored.
www.imnotobsessed.com is a entertainment website that is completely different from both Perez Hilton and Dlisted because it does not have any negativity in the website but focuses on fashion of celebrities and asks readers for their opinions instead. The founder and editor in chief is Vera Sweeney who is a full-time mom who runs her website from home. At the bottom of Vera's website she states that "I'm Not Obsessed offers work-safe and family-friendly insight into the latest celebrity gossip" while Dlisted and Perez Hilton are the complete opposite. This example shows that gender and the current status of a blogger highly affects the content and structure of the website. For example, Vera "the stay-at-home mom" offers a friendly website, that focuses on fashion, while Michael K and Perez Hilton's websites are not safe for work. This might be an extreme case, but on the other hand, it is just one example of how the blogger affects the content and structure of a website.
Vera gives her "two cents" in every story but does not judge the celebrity and sees the other person's side of things. She offers her opinion but mostly asks her readers what are their viewpoints, in order to generate debate on her comments section of her website. Vera does not show unflattering pictures of celebrities but uses nice ones to show certain fashion styles, offering ways for women to emulate these styles at affordable prices.
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