The Media and Famous People

In almost every form of media, including television, newspapers and magazines, a great deal of attention is paid to the personal lives of celebrities¹. It seems that the public cannot get enough of this kind of news. However, I believe that the media have a responsibility to present a balanced view of the world, as well as respect the lives of public figures. Therefore, I believe that the media pay too much attention to the personal lives of famous people.

For people who are fascinated with the lives of public figures there are some forms of media devoted² exclusively to this topic. They can satisfy their curiosity by buying fan magazines and watching TV shows devoted to entertainment news. The general media should present all types of information because people have different interests. Furthermore, the practice of dwelling³ on the private lives of celebrities can lead people to pay more attention to these matters than they otherwise would. Perhaps most importantly, the media should respect the privacy of every individual, including public figures. They may have chosen to be in the public eye, but that does not give the public the right to know everything about them. Moreover, many stories about celebrities are untrue; they are only gossip reported to increase sales of magazines and other media. They are unfair to the famous and mislead the public.

For all of these reasons, I believe that the media should pay more attention to matters other than the private lives of public figures. In this way, they can appeal to a wider audience and encourage people to develop other interests. In my opinion, the media currently pay too much attention to the private lives of public figures.