Forbes Magazine – Financial News (Julia Roberts)
It is fitting that one of the main topics of Chomsky and Herman’s article, Manufacturing Consent, is owner wealth and profit. The news story that our group chose to follow was that of Kim Kardashian’s divorce, and the news source I have been following is Forbes Magazine. Forbes is one of America’s most popular financial magazines and is owned by Comcast. It has reported extensively on the financial aspect of the Kardashian wedding and divorce. I chose this magazine because I was particularly interested in the amount of money the Kardashian brand, and their network stood make off of her divorce.
One of the first stories to become available on Forbes.com was titled, Kardashian Divorce Winners And Losers: Kim Made Millions, But What About Her Sponsors?. This article was posted just hours after the official divorce papers were filled and is solely fact based. Forbes estimates that the amount of money that Kim made off of just the wedding itself was $17.9 million and also reports that Kim has been granted the exclusive right to re-edit the footage of her and Kris Humphries as a married couple for her new reality show on E! Entertainment. This will ensure that Humphries will be made the “bad guy” and her brand will not suffer. I found this article extremely interesting because it was one of the first to become available that touched solely on the financial aspect of her wedding. The article itself is 777 words, or about three typed pages, pretty short and to the point. It even features very flattering pictures of Kim, and does not seek to personally attack her. It was also unique because the construction of the article was fairly impartial. The author did not offer any particular opinion on the divorce or tell only one side of the story. This article has specific evidence and varies greatly from the later articles posted by Forbes, which focus heavily on the public’s opinion.
An example of this was posted on November 3rd and is titled How Kim Kardashian Derails Your Finances. This article is almost completely driven by the opinion of the author. No solid facts are present, and it almost reads like a tabloid. When I compared the
Kim Kardashian later reacted to the first article posted by Forbes with a press statement and Twitter Post. The statement read, “There are also reports that I made millions of dollars off of the wedding. These reports are simply not true and it makes me so sad to have to even clarify this. I’m so grateful to everyone who took the time to come to my wedding and I’ll be donating the money for all the gifts to the Dream Foundation.” I found it extremely interesting to compare the the two articles in Forbes with Kim Kardashian's personal statement. It made me really question which side was telling the truth. Unfortunately, unless you are Ms. Kardashian's lawyer, we may never know the whole financial truth.
TMZ and E! News – Entertainment News (Heather Huynh)
The form of media that I chose to follow was television shows. More specifically, E! News and TMZ. If you watch these shows, you would know that they have a reputation for celebrity gossip and drama. That is exactly what I experienced from following them. The very first segment that I saw on E! was on Monday, Oct 31st. It reports that Kris Humphries was with his family in Minnesota and was photographed wearing his wedding ring after Kim Kardashian filed for divorce. E! Reported that Kris was still wearing his ring because he was devastated and still has hope for their marriage. He stated, "I love my wife and am devastated to learn she filed for divorce…I'm committed to this marriage… I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it work." Kim filed for divorce after two months of marriage. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce and listed Oct. 31, 2011 as their date for separation.
According to TMZ, Kim sent an emotional email to her extended family Monday morning, warning them that she is filing for divorce. She also apologized for “jumping the gun.” She wanted her extended family to hear the news personally from her and not the media. Kim stated that her and Kris come from different worlds and that he was not who she thought he was when they first met. An emotional statement from Kim was that, "I'm embarrassed that I took everyone on this journey with me and had this huge wedding. But I have to be happy, so I have to let this relationship go.”
E! News showed the emotional side of Kim's divorce. The emphasized the emotions by showing clips of her family members supporting her, reading personal statements made by Kim and showing all of the love and support Kim is receiving from her fans. TMZ was different from E! News. They reported that Kim is going into hiding. Sources say that the commotion of her divorce is too much for her and she is laying low until it dies down. TMZ is focusing on the havoc that Kim's divorce is creating for her family and friends. They show the Kardashian family in a much more unflattering light then E! News does.
An interesting report that I saw was about the“bitter prenup bickering”. Sources close to the couple stated that the prenuptial negotiations were marked by bickering, pettiness, and even contempt. Kris Humphries was largely concerned with how much of a cut he could get from all of the generated wedding money. In the end, Kim got what she wanted. Their assets stayed separate and Kris got a cut of the wedding money.
There is no official announcement of a reconciliation but it has been reported that Kim left for Minnesota on the night of Saturday, Nov. 5th to see Kris. She is conflicted over the divorce and wants her and Kris to have closure and to talk everything out. The doors are not shut. The picture on the right shows Kim at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at around 5:30 AM local time.
When it comes to celebrity gossip and drama, E! and TMZ do not disappoint. They go to great lengths to make sure the viewers are updated and in tune with every ounce of drama and the celebrities’ personal lives.
Perez Hilton - Independent Blogger (Maria Sciortino)
To keep readers reading and interested Perez makes many short postings about 100 words each. He even posts pictures with his own comments written across them and videos to relay his message. Some are longer for added quotes from the actual celebrities or their friends. Perez also knows that people read his blog for the gossip as well as to comment and get their own feelings out so, he always ends with some sort of question such as “But who needs to discuss such things when one is marketing and exploiting the sanctity of marriage?!” These comments fuel discussion but also create a picture of the type of person Kim is portrayed as and helps form opinions about her. Perez’s diction is blatant of his own feelings and generally very negative.
http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=90073&sitesection=seperezhilton&VID=23543163
The New York Daily - National Newspaper (Gaothy Vang)
The Kardashians make frequent appearances in New York promoting their store clothing line DASH with Kim Kardashian as the fresh face model for the fashion line. Since New York is America’s fashion capital, the Kardashians will certainly remain as part of New York as long as DASH is there. Kim Kardashian’s split from her former husband, Kris Humphries, was announce on November 1, 2011. Her divorce earned her “most gossiped celebrity” in the New York Daily followed by Lindsay Lohan and Justin Beiber. As I followed the storyline of Kardashian’s divorce, there are about over ten articles circling from October to November shortly after E! aired their wedding footage on television in a two part series earning over 400 million viewers. When it comes to the New York Daily, there is only negative feedback and articles on Kardashian’s marriage to Humphries as a “publicity ploy”. As horrible as it sounds every article that appeared in the New York Daily following up with her divorce mentions her “72 days of marriage” to NBA player Kris Humphries within the first three sentences. The articles that appear in the New York Daily speak on behalf of what caused Kim to file for divorce behind her husband’s back while he believed in a happily ever after with Kim. The articles mention and question if the marriage was a hoax and all for show for money purposes and media attention. The amount of money E! and People’s Magazine paid to get juicy details and first look footage of their marriage was approximately $17.9 million altogether.
The New York Daily portrays Kim Kardashian as the bad guy and former ex-husband Kris as the innocent one that was used and misled by Kim to earn media attention and more fortune to the Kardashians who have built an empire with just their family name alone. Although rumor has it that she divorced him over moving to Minnesota, choosing her career, and high class materialistic lifestyle, Kim defends that she did marry Kris Humphries because of love and divorce was best to settle their differences. In addition Kim’s mother, Kris Jenner, also defends her daughter saying that Kim did not earn a single penny from her marriage to Humphries according to all the gossip and rumors.
Comparison an Analysis
As we consider all of the different news sources we analyzed in doing this project, certain patterns begin to appear. All of the stories are fairly similar. Kim Kardashian is portrayed as the evil woman who wants to rob Kris Humphries's of his money and dignity. However there are also certain differences, which range from degree of slander to the amount of money that was spent to get the news story first. These differences stem from which major media conglomerates own the news sources we are analyzing.
E! Entertainment, which is owned by Comcast, is the network that “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” is aired on. From our research, we discovered that E! News was one of the most understanding towards the story. They focused on the feelings of Kris and Kim, and what was going on behind the cameras, not just the financial situation or name calling. It was also noted that the divorce gave the network more time to push the new season of “Kim and Khloe Take New York”. There were multiple commercials urging viewers to “tune into” the next seasons so they can see what really happened. Because the E! News is on the same network that the Kardashian’s show is on, they are relatively limited to what they can and can’t say about the divorces. Anything that would jeopardize ratings is a big “no-no”.
Both TMZ and Forbes Magazine are owned by the media conglomerate Time Warner, this major corporation has been around for decades and controls hundreds of major TV/cable stations, news papers, and magazines. TMZ particularly was brutal towards the Kardashian family after news of the divorce broke. They were able to say many things about Kim that other outlets were not. Forbes.com, which was not as nasty as TMZ, was still able to craft the story of Kim’s divorce into what they wanted. Purely factual and number based financial news. Time Warner and Comcast have in the last few years, made many deals together to expand their cable empires. It is interesting to note that TMZ and Forbes are limited as news sources by this fact. If these news sources were to in any way, damage Comcast’s ratings they would lose a partner in the cable TV take over. The New York Daily is also owned by a major corporation, this one called Emmis Communications, which has close ties to many of the other national conglomerates.
Finally, one of our most interesting sources was out independent blogger. Perez Hilton isn't owned by a major media conglomerate. He is allowed to write what he wants, when he wants. However, he does face some restrictions. Because Perez has come to make a living off of his blog, he most continually report on issues his readers are interested in. Even though he is not owned by the "leading class" he still is able to effectively control the news.
In every source we looked at there was some unique form of agenda, bias and agency. Each news source wanted to deliver it's readers/watchers/listeners the information that will keep them coming back to that news source. They all sought to make some form of profit off of the news that they are delivering and each was in competition with the other. In Manufacturing Consent, Herman and Chomasky stated that the size, concentration, and ownership wealth filters the way news is reported and how history is made. While Kim Kardashian's divorce may not be as serious a news story as the Occupy Wallstreet Protests or the debt in Europe. It is an excellent example of how news is created, reported and turned into history by the leading classes in America.
This is a very interesting topic! I think it was a good idea to follow something that was this popular, because there are obviously going to be a lot of extreme views about this divorce.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how some articles showed her emotional side of the divorce, while some just made her look ridiculous for getting married in the first place.
I think its also interesting how people are so enthralled with the acts of Kim Kardashian, as well as the rest of her family.
I am not that into the lives of celebrities but I whenever I turn on the radio, read a magazine or watch some television, there seems to be a lot of focus on Kim Kardashian's divorce. Whether it was a set up by network television or genuine love then break up, these lives that celebrities lead can be a bit ridiculous. One thing that you guys talked about was blogger Perez Hilton. I thought is was interesting because even though he isn't owned by anyone and writes what he wants, his topics are going to be about what everyone is talking about and what everyone is talking about is the media and the people who control what goes into it. Just as Chomsky and Herman gets at, there's a force behind it that propels it and decides what the masses get to see and how they see it. It is rhetoric that they would want us to see the scandals and controversies that are entailed with this celebrity divorce. Having the viewers take a position and all the more making the Kardashian's more famous. And I mean, what does Kim Kardashian even do to be labeled a celebrity? -_-
ReplyDeleteI am usually not particularly interested in the lives of celebrities, however the divorce of Kim Kardashian. It brought back memories of Britney Spears' 52 hour marriage. I have also noticed that there have been lots of social networking coverage of the divorce. I've seen several statuses regarding what Forbes' report on the money earned from the divorce could have gone towards, such as feeding the hungry. Another take on it has been in regards to marriage equality. I've seen many posts commenting on how Kim Kardashian was only married for such a short time but gay couples can't get married at all because that would 'ruin the sanctity of marriage'. It is interesting to me that ten though the opportunity to make the Kardashian wedding a political matter is there, it does not appear that many news outlets have taken it in that direction.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I hear she's trying to get back together with the same guy.
I am still perplexed on why people watch and are interested in such drama focused shows lives. They are just normally people who happen to be very wealthy and famous and that promotes certain behaviors which are interesting to some people to watch because it is entertaining. This news of Kim's divorce is all over the news because it is a way for news outlets to gain ratings. The new outlets know that Kim and her family are very famous, so when a big story can be printed about one of them then they realize they need to print articles from every angle possible. The most articles they print for people to read of this drama, the more money they make. The people are curious about these public figures and want information whether it is true, rumored, or satirical. The news outlets your group picked were well choosen because yes they want to make money by spilling out the drama, but they also need to display the stories in the style of there newspapers. The interested readers have certain preferences and will buy/read different types of news outlets. Let's just hope that this story does not go on for too long though, I would just love to hear of more drama surrounded the Justin Bieber haha.
ReplyDeleteI was really happy when I saw some group did this topic because personally I follow celebrity gossip pretty closely. Although this topic seems really insignificant and like there isn't that much to talk about, it was interesting to read about how much bias the different media outlets used when presenting this story. This story also really connects to what Rachel was talking about in class when it comes to reality television. Specifically, when we were talking about "Performing reality". Many of these news sources are trying to claim that they know exactly why the couple broke up and what happened with the money they did or didn't make from their wedding. The sources seemed to flip flop from making Kim seem like the bad guy to making Kris seem like he was just out to make some quick cash from this wedding. Another thing that really interested me was how in just one source the views on the subject were completely different. In Forbes Magazine, it was crazy to think that in one media source their opinion would change so drastically just so they could get people to read their article and make it more appealing to the "drama-hungry" society we live in.
ReplyDeleteI love this topic! I really wish my group would have thought of this because I'm a HUGE fan of the Kardashians! I love that a group did a pop culture topic because I feel that pop culture may have gotten a bit overlooked since this was an academic assignment. I liked the wide range of media outlets that they used because they covered an well known independent blogger, Perez Hilton, the actual TV station that the Kardashians' shows are on, E! entertainment and they also used a national news outlet that is known for much more than just pop culture. This was a great topic because it was so recent and so popular among the college age crowd. It's really interesting to see how such different media types cover the story, depending on what you heard first you have have an altered opinion of why they got a divorce in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI love this topic. I think it is such a great topic to discuss on. First of all, this really shows the different ways sources come after celebrities. Secondly, I think no matter what source you get your information on, I think most of the country thinks Kim Kardashian is a joke who is greedy and needy of attention. I really enjoyed how the Forbes fact-based articles weren't really of much interest to others because the more enjoyed articles were the gossip opinionated articles. Where as for me, I would enjoy both equally, getting all the real facts and seeing how people put them in their own perspective and twist and turn them. This is such a ridiculous story, you know many news sources want to get the in on this. I think it's fun to keep up with celebrities to see what crazy things they do, and this takes the cake for 2011 I think.
ReplyDeleteWow, of course the Kardashian Divorce would be the most frequently commented on and a hot topic for this project! To be honest, our group was considering the subject as well except, we took a step back and thought, "why do we care about her divorce again?" I think your group did a great job with analyzing a variety of source outlets, comparing the differences and similarities and just really digging deep into the story behind every news channel, TV show, article, tweet, FB status change, etc...about her and this divorce. I would have to honestly say though, I think another topic would have been "richer" than this because like Youk, I also wonder and ponder the idea as to why and how she is so "famous" or the "celebrity" she is and again goes back to my initial reaction to all the Fb statuses, the tweets, the news reports, WHY does it matter that she's getting a divorce and WHY does something like that have to be imbedded into America's "History" or labeled as "History in the making" when there are other pressing issues that need coverage and discussion? She's filing for divorce, America's divorce rate has increased to 40-50%, "According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America:
ReplyDeleteThe divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%" unfortunately so why does Kim Kardashian's divorce any different? Is it because of the millions of dollars that was spent? Or because of the short time she was married? Or because everyone just needs something to gossip/talk trash about or needed to sympathize with? Honestly, my question from the beginning still remains, "WHO CARES?! Stop spamming my Facebook with your ridiculous statuses!" I mean, honestly, I feel bad for her and Mr. Humphrey, every divorce can't be good but seriously, let them deal with it, their divorce does not need the same coverage their wedding had. Nonetheless, your group did well in getting to the point of how/why the media works the way it does, just another easy way to label everything as "history."
I think this proves the sanctity of marriage is long gone.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do not understand is why get married? Why do celebrities feel the need to get married quick and then get divorced because it didn't work out ? The average time it takes for a celebrity couple to get married after starting the relationship is ridiculous like 2 or 3 months. I think the true reason for the weddings and divorces are for the money and the publicity, I think that is the only reason.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with the New York Daily for this one because I do feel that Kim was exploiting this Man so that she could further her career and put her products out there.
It is interesting also how Time Warner owns these companies and media channels and how they portrayed the situation, and how it is different between the news outlets talked about.
History is formed by where we seek our news not just how it is portrayed in the media, I think it is important to know that getting news from one source is not the full truth each different outlet has a subjective view and to get the full picture you will need to pull news from many sources and cannot believe everything written.