|
A Google image search of the name Heath Ledger results in a variety of photos, from carefully airbrushed publicity shots to movie stills.
But alongside obituaries hailing the 28-year-old actor as an untapped talent who had much more to give, a number of publications chose to display paparazzi-like images of his black body bag being wheeled past crowds of onlookers.
Within minutes of the news reaching traditional media outlets, the Internet was buzzing with Ledger’s unexpected passing, fueled by the public’s insatiable curiosity and fascination with the tragedies that seem to plague celebrities. Ledger, known for his Oscar-nominated role as gay cowboy Ennis del Mar in 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain,” was found dead in his New York apartment on January 22nd.
The advent of the digital camera and the Web log are making gossips like Perez Hilton icons of a generation and changing the most ordinary tasks into a media frenzy. And as society’s obsession with stardom grows, celebrities find themselves under increasing scrutiny. Something as simple as actress Lindsay Lohan going shopping results in a blinding sea of flashbulbs and a horde of paparazzi following her every move. The pictures are then sold for a small fortune before being plastered all over the Internet where anonymous users make snide comments about her acne and bad hair extensions.
“It must make it so difficult to even think of yourself as normal when everybody
is popping pictures of you and screaming your name everywhere you go,” mused Phyllis
Karas in a telephone interview. Karas, a professor of journalism at Boston University and freelancer for People magazine, said she has seen the shift as the public grows increasingly interested in the celebrity lifestyle. People, a magazine that once dominated its corner of the market, faces stiff competition from other publications such as Us Weekly and newsstand tabloids such as Star.
However, Karas was quick to point out that a slow change appears to be occuring in the content of celebrity magazines. “They're covering court cases and weight issues, [they’re] trying to find positive things to write about…so I like to think they're realizing people want a little bit of meat in their stories,” she said.
Even so, less than 24 hours after Ledger’s death, cover images from the planned memorial issues of Entertainment and People were circulating through cyberspace. The day following his death, the New York Times featured an obituary on its front page, along with news of a federal interest rate cut and new medical findings supporting surgery as the preferred treatment for diabetes.
Oh No They Didn’t, a popular blog on Livejournal which averages more than 175,000 hits a day, featured dozens of posts about Ledger, one of which was casually sandwiched between news of rapper Lil Wayne’s arrest and photos of actor John Krasinski. The blog’s initial post about Ledger’s death received more than 2,600 comments while a subsequent post of information compiled from reputable news sources, such as CNN, topped 3,700 comments. Other gossip, such as actress Angelina Jolie’s rumored pregnancy and the antics of pop star Britney Spears average around 100-200 comments.
The outpouring of attention shouldn’t be unexpected, since Internet gossip blogs have been steadily gaining attention in recent years. “They are easily accessible and have things on everyone all in one place… I like to know what's going on in the
media,” Alexis Schwallier said in an email, explaining some of the blogs’ appeal. Schwallier, a 20-year-old college student in South Carolina, admits to faithfully checking Oh No They Didn’t and Buzznet.com daily.
And she’s not the only one. “Sometimes I'll look at ONTD because it's a quick way to get a lot of entertainment information at once,” Jessica Vicidomini, an 18-year-old college freshman from New Jersey, said in an e-mail. “I don't have a favorite but Perez [Hilton]’s is the funniest just because he is like one of us,” she explained, referring to the blog known for its humor and poorly edited photos. With the help of the Internet, the blog’s creator Perez Hilton has managed to go from a civilian with a penchant for stalking the stars to a regular invitee at red carpet events.
Celebrities seem to be trying to write their own gossip – by starting their own blogs. A number of stars, including Paris Hilton and Rosie O’Donnell, started blogging in an effort to decrease the need for fans to reach for a third party source – such as Oh No They Didn’t. Most musicians use the MyBlog feature on Myspace.com to keep fans in the loop, while others have created journals on their Web sites to generate their own publicity.
But gossip blogs are still reaching hundreds of thousands of readers every day who are eager to read about their favorite celebrity’s demise, or, in the case of Heath Ledger, his unexpected death. | 