Nathalie Claessens

Of local and global fame: A comparative analysis of news items and audience reactions on celebrity news websites People, Heat, and HLN

Worldwide, people follow global celebrities’ lives almost in real time, while communities create their own celebrities, of great local fame but unknown internationally. Examining the People (USA), Heat (UK), and HLN (Flanders) websites, this article provides a quantitative framing-based content analysis of a sample of online celebrity news and the accompanying audience responses. General results show that media focus on celebrities’ professional and love lives, while audiences cover more superficial topics (appearances). Further, media tend to be less and readers more judgmental in discussing celebrities. Examining global/local distinctions, HLN articles are shown to focus on global celebrities, while readers comment more on local stars. Reactions also cover more personal topics when discussing local celebrities, and both HLN articles and reactions judge global celebrities more negatively than locals. Finally, most positive parasocial relationships are maintained with local and most negative with global celebrities. The cultural proximity hypothesis can help explain these differences.

Parasocial relationships with audiences favorite celebrities : the role of audience and celebrity characteristics in a representative Flemish sample

Abstract This article provides insight into one form of audience involvement with celebrities: parasocial relationships (PSR). To address several shortcomings in PSR research – focus on TV, confusion between PSI (parasocial interaction) and PSR, use of student samples, neglect of socio-demographic variables – a representative online survey was conducted with 1000 Flemish adults who indicated 382 celebrities as favorites. A new scale reveals that PSR contain two important elements: emotional connections and an analogy with social relationships. Confirming previous research, most favorite celebrities are male, and cultural proximity is especially important for older respondents. In one combined model, respondents’ and celebrities’ (socio-demographic) characteristics are included as potential PSR predictors. This model nuances previous research and reveals that people who are male, older, more lowly-educated, and interested in celebrity news have stronger PSR. Further, stronger PSR are found for local and religious, political, sports, and music celebrities than for film celebrities.

'By working she means tweeting' : online celebrity gossip media and audience readings of celebrity Twitter behaviour

Focused on online reactions to celebrity tweets, this contribution analyses celebrity Twitter use from an audience perspective. Twitter, and the wider use of social media by celebrities, has been heralded as a means to bridge the real and symbolic ‘distance’ between celebrities and media, fans and wider audiences, increasing a sense of authenticity and closeness through direct, ‘unmediated’ communication (Muntean and Petersen 2009, Hellmueller and Aeschbacher 2010, McNamara 2011). Twitter is thus argued to encourage a (further) shift away from the once highly controlled access to and communication from celebrities, towards a celebrity culture in which performers interact ‘directly and authentically’ with media and audiences (Marwick and boyd 2011). Perhaps for this reason, many celebrities have decided not to maintain an online presence:

Representation of fandom in mainstream media: Analysis of production and content of Flemish television’s Superfans:

By means of a qualitative analysis of Superfans, a five-part reality television series in which fans are followed in their daily activities, ranging from singing along at concerts to intimate camera confessions in a room dedicated to their idol, this article studies the representation of fandom in mainstream television and participants’ and TV-producers’ reflections upon it. Empirical content analysis and interviews reveal different aspects of fandom, as identified by Abercrombie and Longhurst, to dominate the representation: intense media use and fan productivity, strong hierarchical communities and a lack of critical interpretative skills. Fan–idol relationships are shown to be based on emotions and to go beyond mere identification to include parasocial relationships and neo-religiosity. Results thus confirm the theoretical paradox between the television industry’s promotion of celebrity to attract loyal audiences and the rejection of fandom through a carefully constructed representation hereof as ‘freaky business’.