WikiDwarf: Add

2023-08-28T15:54:10Z

Add

New page

{{Short description|Style of largely sensationalist journalism}}
{{About|a style of journalism|the printing format|Tabloid (newspaper format)}}
{{Redirect|Scandal sheet||Scandal Sheet (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

[[File:British tabloids - July 5 2011.jpg|thumb|Display rack of British newspapers, many of which are tabloids.]]

'''Tabloid journalism''' is a [[popular culture|popular]] style of largely [[sensationalism|sensationalist]] [[journalism]] which takes its name from the [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid newspaper format]]: a small-sized newspaper also known as half [[broadsheet]].<ref name="britt" /> The size became associated with sensationalism, and ''tabloid journalism'' replaced the earlier label of ''[[yellow journalism]]'' and ''scandal sheets''.<ref name="cohen">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/yellowjournalism00cohe |title=Yellow Journalism |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2000 |isbn=0761315020 |page=73 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Not all newspapers associated with tabloid journalism are tabloid size, and not all tabloid-size newspapers engage in tabloid journalism; in particular, since around the year 2000 many broadsheet newspapers converted to the more [[Tabloid (newspaper format)#Compact tabloids|compact tabloid format]].<ref name="britt">{{cite web |last=Gossel |first=Daniel |title=Tabloid journalism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/tabloid-journalism |access-date=2020-09-19 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>

In some cases, celebrities have successfully sued for [[libel]], demonstrating that tabloid stories have defamed them.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Travis M. |date=July 14, 2016 |title=Dr. Phil and wife Robin sue the National Enquirer for $250 million, citing defamation |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/14/dr-phil-and-wife-robin-sue-the-national-enquirer-for-250000-million-citing-defamation/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref> Publications engaging in tabloid journalism are known as '''rag newspapers''' or simply '''rags'''. Tabloid journalism has changed over the last decade to more [[Online marketing platform|online platforms]] that seek to target and engage youth consumers with [[celebrity]] news and [[entertainment]].

== Scandal sheets ==

Scandal sheets were the precursors to tabloid journalism. Around 1770, scandal sheets appeared in London, and in the United States as early as the 1840s.{{r|klatt}} [[Sir Henry Dudley, 1st Baronet|Reverend Henry Bate Dudley]] was the editor of one of the earliest scandal sheets, ''[[The Morning Post]]'', which specialized in printing malicious society gossip, selling positive mentions in its pages, and collecting suppression fees to keep stories unpublished.{{r|wilkes|p=11–14}} Other [[Georgian era]] scandal sheets were [[Theodore Hook]]'s ''[[John Bull (magazine)|John Bull]]'', [[Charles Molloy Westmacott]]'s ''The Age'', and [[Barnard Gregory]]'s ''[[The Satirist]]''.{{r|wilkes|p=53}} [[William d'Alton Mann]], owner of the scandal sheet ''[[Town Topics (magazine)|Town Topics]]'', explained his purpose: "My ambition is to reform [[The Four Hundred (1892)|the Four Hundred]] by making them too deeply disgusted with themselves to continue their silly, empty way of life."{{r|wilkes|p=93}} Many scandal sheets in the U.S. were short-lived attempts at blackmail.{{r|wilkes|p=90}} One of the most popular in the U.S. was the ''[[National Police Gazette]]''.<ref name="klatt">{{cite book | last=Klatt | first=Wayne | title=Chicago journalism : a history | publisher=McFarland & Co | publication-place=Jefferson, N.C | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-7864-4181-5 | oclc=277136414 | page=41}}</ref>

Scandal sheets in the early 20th century were usually 4- or 8-page cheap papers specializing in the lurid and profane, sometimes used to grind political, ideological, or personal axes, sometimes to make money (because "scandal sells"), and sometimes for extortion. A Duluth, Minnesota example was the ''[[Ripsaw (newspaper)|Rip-saw]]'', written by a puritanical journalist named [[John L. Morrison]] who was outraged by the vice and corruption he observed in that 1920s mining town. ''Rip-saw'' regularly published accusations of drunkenness, debauchery, and corruption against prominent citizens and public officials. Morrison was convicted of criminal libel in one instance, but his scandal sheet may have contributed to several politicians losing their elections. After Morrison published an issue claiming that State Senator Mike Boylan had threatened to kill him, Boylan responded by helping to pass the Public Nuisance Bill of 1925. It allowed a single judge, without jury, to stop a newspaper or magazine from publishing, forever. Morrison died before the new law could be used to shut down ''Rip-saw''. ''[[The Saturday Press (Minneapolis)|The Saturday Press]]'' was another Minnesota scandal sheet. When the Public Nuisance Bill of 1925 was used to shut down ''The Saturday Press'', [[Near v. Minnesota|the case]] made its way to the [[United States Supreme Court]] which found the [[gag order|gag law]] to be unconstitutional.<ref name="cohen2">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/yellowjournalism00cohe |title=Yellow Journalism |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2000 |isbn=0761315020 |pages=39–52 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Supermarket tabloids==
{{see also|Gossip magazine}}

In the United States and Canada, "supermarket tabloids" are large, national versions of these tabloids, usually published weekly. They are named for their prominent placement along the [[supermarket]] checkout lines.

In the 1960s, the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' began selling magazines in supermarkets as an alternative to newsstands. To help with their rapport with supermarkets and continue their franchise within them, they had offered to buy back unsold issues so newer, more up to date ones could be displayed.<ref name=":0" />

These tabloids—such as the ''[[The Globe (tabloid)|Globe]]'' and the ''National Enquirer''—often use aggressive and usually mean-spirited tactics to sell their issues. Unlike regular tabloid-format newspapers, supermarket tabloids are distributed through the magazine distribution channel like other weekly magazines and mass-market paperback books. Leading examples include the ''National Enquirer'', ''[[Star (magazine)|Star]]'', ''[[Weekly World News]]'' (later reinvented as a parody of the style), and the ''[[Sun (supermarket tabloid)|Sun]]''. Most major supermarket tabloids in the U.S. are published by [[American Media (publisher)|American Media, Inc.]], including the ''National Enquirer'', ''Star'', ''Globe'', and ''[[National Examiner]]''.

A major event in the history of U.S. supermarket tabloids was the successful libel lawsuit by [[Carol Burnett]] against the ''National Enquirer'' (''[[Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc.]]''), arising out of a false 1976 report in the ''National Enquirer'', implying she was drunk and boisterous in a public encounter with U.S. Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]]. Though its impact is widely debated, it is generally seen as a significant turning point in the relations between celebrities and tabloid journalism, increasing the willingness of celebrities to sue for libel in the U.S., and somewhat dampening the recklessness of U.S. tabloids.<ref name="carol_burnett_launches_1981_03_22_upi">{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Vernon |date=March 22, 1981 |title=Carol Burnett launches trial balloon |website= |publisher=[[United Press International]] |url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/22/Carol-Burnett-launches-trial-balloon/6032354085200/ |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name="carol_burnett_given_1981_03_27_lindsey_nytimes">{{cite news | last= Lindsey | first= Robert | url= https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/27/us/carol-burnett-given-1.6-million-in-suit-against-national-enquirer.html | title= Carol Burnett given 1.6 million in suit against National Enquirer | date= March 27, 1981 | work= [[The New York Times]] | access-date= January 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name="how_tabloids_1991_01_04_nytimes">[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/04/news/how-the-supermarket-tabloids-stay-out-of-court.html "How the Supermarket Tabloids Stay Out of Court"], January 4, 1991, ''The New York Times'', retrieved January 1, 2017.</ref><ref name="tabloids_lies_1991_08_12_langberg_nytimes">{{cite news |last=Langberg |first=Barry |date=August 12, 1991 |title=Tabloids' Lies Abuse the First Amendment |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-12/entertainment/ca-468_1_tabloids |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 1, 2017}} (Opinion essay by libel attorney for Burnett and others)</ref><ref name="tabloid_law_1999_08_atlantic">{{cite news |last=Beam |first=Alex |date=August 1999 |title=Tabloid Law |work=[[The Atlantic Monthly]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/08/tabloid-law/377722/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Other celebrities have attempted to sue tabloid magazines for libel and slander including [[Phil McGraw]] in 2016<ref name=":0" /> and [[Richard Simmons]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Richard Simmons v the National Enquirer'' |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/357656566/Richard-Simmons-v-the-National-Enquirer |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 1, 2017 |via=Scribd}}</ref>

Tabloids may [[chequebook journalism|pay for stories]]. Besides [[scoop (news)|scoop]]s meant to be headline stories, this can be used to censor stories damaging to the paper's allies. Known as "[[catch and kill]]", tabloid newspapers may pay someone for the exclusive rights to a story, then choose not to run it.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/catch-and-kill-at-national-enquirer-gives-media-one-last-black-eye-before-election/2016/11/05/2534d43e-a36c-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html |title='Catch and kill' at National Enquirer gives media one last black eye before election |last=Sullivan |first=Margaret |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date= November 5, 2016|access-date= December 6, 2017}}</ref> Publisher American Media has been accused of burying stories embarrassing to [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nicholas |first1=Peter |last2=Hall |first2=Carla |date=August 12, 2005 |title=Tabloid's Deal With Woman Shielded Schwarzenegger |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/12/local/me-arnold12 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref> [[Donald Trump]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Palazzolo |first1=Joe |last2=Rothfield |first2=Michael |last3=Alpert |first3=Lukas |date=November 4, 2016 |title=National Enquirer Shielded Donald Trump From Playboy Model's Affair Allegation |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-enquirer-shielded-donald-trump-from-playboy-models-affair-allegation-1478309380 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref> and [[Harvey Weinstein]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Twohey |first1=Megan |last2=Kantor |first2=Jodi |last3=Dominus |first3=Susan |last4=Rutenberg |first4=Jim |last5=Eder |first5=Steve |date=December 6, 2017 |title=Weinstein's Complicity Machine |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/05/us/harvey-weinstein-complicity.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref>

==Red tops==
The term "red tops" refers to British tabloids with red [[Nameplate (publishing)|mastheads]], such as ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', the ''[[Daily Star (United Kingdom)|Daily Star]]'', the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', and the ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/dec/06/pressandpublishing.abcs|title=Red-tops on the rise, survey shows|work=The Guardian |location=London |date=December 6, 2007|author=Stephen Brook|access-date=April 1, 2012}}</ref>

== Modern tabloid journalism ==
In the early 21st century, much of tabloid journalism and news production changed mediums to [[digital media|online]] formats.<ref name="Bastos 217–225">{{Citation|last=Bastos|first=Marco T.|chapter=Digital Journalism And Tabloid Journalism|date=2016-11-18|title=The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies|pages=217–225|editor-last=Franklin|editor-first=Bob|edition=1|publisher=Routledge|language=en|doi=10.4324/9781315713793-22|isbn=978-1-315-71379-3|chapter-url=http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf|editor2-last=Eldridge|editor2-first=Scott A.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427141559/http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> This change is to keep up with the era of digital media and allow for increased accessibility of readers. With a steady [[Decline of newspapers|decline in paid newspapers]],<ref name="Bastos 217–225"/> the gap has been filled by expected free daily articles, mostly in the tabloid format. Tabloid readers are often youths, and studies show that consumers of tabloids are on average less educated.<ref name="Bastos 217–225"/> It can often depict inaccurate news<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Popović|first1=Virginia|last2=Popović|first2=Predrag|date=December 2014|title=The Twenty-First Century, the Reign of Tabloid Journalism|journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences|language=en|volume=163|pages=12–18|doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.280|doi-access=free}}</ref> and misrepresent individuals and situations.

==See also==
{{Portal|Journalism}}
* [[Benji the Binman]]
* [[Broadcast syndication]]
* [[Gossip magazine]]
* [[Index of journalism articles]]
* [[Jazz journalism]] – U.S. sensationalist press of the 1920s
* [[Leveson Inquiry]]
* [[Mediatization (media)]], for the social and political consequences of tabloidization
* [[Middle-market newspaper]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="wilkes">{{cite book | last=Wilkes | first=Roger | title=Scandal : a scurrilous history of gossip | publisher=Atlantic | publication-place=London | year=2002 | isbn=1-903809-63-0 | oclc=50434290 |url=https://archive.org/details/scandalscurrilou00wilk}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*Bastos, M. T. (2016). [https://web.archive.org/web/20190427141559/http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf Digital Journalism And Tabloid Journalism]. ''The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies'', 217–225. {{doi|10.4324/9781315713793-22}}
* Bessie, Simon Michael. ''[[iarchive:in.ernet.dli.2015.88937|Jazz Journalism: The Story Of The Tabloid Newspapers]]'' (1938)
* {{cite book |author=Conboy, Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidbritainco0000conb |title=Tabloid Britain: Constructing a Community Through Language |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-35553-7 |url-access=registration}}
* Gekoski, Anna, Jacqueline M. Gray, and Joanna R. Adler. "[https://www.academia.edu/download/42843190/BJC_newsworthiness_of_homicide.pdf What makes a homicide newsworthy? UK national tabloid newspaper journalists tell all.]" ''British Journal of Criminology'' 52.6 (2012): 1212–1232.{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* {{cite book |author=Glynn, Kevin |year=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidculturetr0000glyn |title=Tabloid Culture: Trash Taste, Popular Power, and the Transformation of American Television |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=0-8223-2550-0 |url-access=registration}}
* Johansson, Sofia. "Gossip, sport and pretty girls: What does 'trivial' journalism mean to Tabloid Newspaper readers?." ''Journalism Practice'' 2.3 (2008): 402–413. {{doi|10.1080/17512780802281131}}
* {{cite book |author=Morton, Paula E. |url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidvalleysup0000mort |title=Tabloid Valley: Supermarket News and American Culture |year=2009 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-3364-8 |url-access=registration}}
* Popović, V., & Popović, P. (2014). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814063812?via%3Dihub The Twenty-First Century, the Reign of Tabloid Journalism.] ''Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences'', ''163'', 12–18. {{doi|10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.280}}
* Richardson, John E., and James Stanyer. "[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Stanyer/publication/239775322_Reader_opinion_in_the_digital_age_Tabloid_and_broadsheet_newspaper_websites_and_the_exercise_of_political_voice/links/55ae22c808aed9b7dcdb7327.pdf Reader opinion in the digital age: Tabloid and broadsheet newspaper websites and the exercise of political voice.]" ''Journalism'' 12.8 (2011): 983–1003. {{doi|10.1177/1464884911415974}}
* {{cite book |author1=Sparks, Colin |author2=John Tulloch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xRc5IsjSPQgC |title=Tabloid Tales: Global Debates over Media Standards |year=2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9572-0}}
* {{cite book|author=Wasserman, Herman |title=Tabloid Journalism in South Africa: True Story! |url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidjournalis0000wass|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-22211-4}}
* {{cite book |editor=Zelizer, Barbie |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/changingfacesofj0000unse |title=The Changing Faces of Journalism: Tabloidization, Technology and Truthiness |year=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-77824-4}}

==External links==
{{Media culture}}
{{Media manipulation}}

[[Category:Tabloid journalism| ]]
[[Category:News media manipulation]]
[[Category:Media bias]]
[[Category:Types of journalism]]

Tabloid journalism - Revision history

WikiDwarf: Add