Sunday, February 20, 2011

It should be no shock by now that I am totally wrapped up in the world of celebrities. I have subscribed to People Magazine for the past couple years, and before that I bought issue after issue from the checkout line. You might call me obsessed, but I prefer the term...interested...very interested.

Magazines are Today's tabloids. They are our most important source of printed gossip. They might even be our most trusted source of printed gossip. Because everything you read is true, right?

You might be thinking the internet would be our most "reliable" source for all breaking celebrity news. The internet is good for getting the gist of breaking stories, but magazines have had time to actually nail down details before their stories are sent out. That said, magazines do lie. There it is. I said it. Not everything they say is true, but it sure sounds good, doesn't it?

It's easy for us to take magazines, or any gossip source really, at their word because we don't know any better. We weren't there to observe what really happened that night at the club when so-and-so were seen snuggling all night, so naturally we'll believe whatever we're told.

The hard truth of the matter is that we must remember the "realities" that are the lives of celebrities are not necessarily reality. Magazines and other gossip resources have been known to touch-up stories to make them sound more appealing or to draw as much attention as they can.

An article from The Battalion discusses how celebrity news sources try to make their stories as relatable to their readers as possible. The more we as readers can relate to the lastest breaking story the more apt we are to continue buying the next issue to hit newstands.

Don't get me wrong, go out and buy People's newest issue featuring the newest wedding details of the pending nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Indulge your guilty pleasures. But remember to take everything you read with a grain of salt. Those magazines know how to pull on our gossip-strings and, by Golly, we've got to keep our heads on straight! Keep your head in the reality you know, and maybe just a toe or two dipped in the "reality" of celebrity lives. Because after all gossip magazines are just that, gossip. The rumor mill is a fun place to be, but don't forget to get off the mill every once and a while.

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