Week 2: Assignment

Tiffany VanVolkinburg

YesterdayNov 25 at 11:25pm

Manage Discussion Entry

Throughout my studies of journalism and news writing/reporting I've had many discussions about the validity of entertainment news, or if it can even be considered reporting. Personally, I believe if it is a reputable magazine or entertainment station, the stories presented are news reports and not simply commentaries. A basic element of reporting is delivering fact-based information to an audience that "are verifiable pieces of information from reliable sources. [The facts] can be looked up or checked out and can be agreed on by most people" (Stovall, 2015). Entertainment news is capable of meeting this requirement. Nevertheless, while the basic requirements of journalistic writing is often present, there may not be much depth to many of the entertainment news stories reported.

In the Journal On English Language Teaching, there was an article about the language used in entertainment news stating, "While providing too much detail at word, phrase and clause level can easily lead to information overload. It also makes a clever tactic helping to transform a basically frivolous event into a top story of the day. It seems to be an attempt to ascribe relevance and newsworthiness to an affair that is nothing more than entertainment, but the aforementioned strategies almost make it look like a serious business" (Marjanovic, 2013). I found this especially true in the story I read in People Magazine about actress Margot Robbie (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. .

After perusing the website and some of the stories, this above-mentioned ability to sensationalize the mundane is a character attribute I believe is necessary for a reporter wanting to work for People Magazine. A second attribute would be an in-depth understanding of what people find intriguing or entertaining. The top three journalistic skills I noted were necessary for employment with People Magazine--based on the listed job requirements in the application section of the website--were flexibility, multi-tasking and the ability to meet varying deadlines. These three skills are universal in the world of journalism, and were just as necessary in the entertainment news segment of reporting.

Tiffany VanVolkinburg

References

Marjanovic, T. (2013). The Language of Entertainment News Is a Serious Business. Journal On English Language Teaching, 3(4), 6-11.

Stovall, J. G. (2015). Writing for the mass media (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.