EOTO #2: Reaction

The History of Gossip Columns

Photo: RBK, The Secrets You Learn Working at Celebrity Magazines

One presentation that really caught my attention was the one about the history of gossip columns. Prior to this presentation, I honestly never thought much of them. It was simply something that existed and that was all. 

A journalist is meant to investigate and dig for detailed information that hasn't been heard before, so it was very interesting to look at this job through the lens of gossip. When I think of a journalist, my mind automatically goes to news reporting and current events. This presentation taught me to keep an open mind and see that there is so much more out there. 

Journalists have the ability to obtain high-profile information on some of the top celebrities and figures in the world. A gossip column is the part of a newspaper or magazine where you find stories about the social and private lives of famous people. 

Photo: CrimeReads

Reader's love scandalous and juicy information. It is human nature to be curious about the lives of those around us, so when gossip columns became a thing, they gained major popularity. 

Gossip columns became very popular in eighteenth century Europe. Although gossiping has been around forever, the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century is what allowed readers to digest material at much higher rates. With the printing press producing written materials quicker, prompting higher distribution rates, people figured out that writing could be used for much more than daily news.

James Boswell, a Scottish biographer and journalist, became known as the first "gossiper." He began writing about events happening in his town, which then later turned into 70 gossip columns for London Magazine. One interesting thing that Boswell did was write under a pen name.

Writing under a different name, especially when you are exploiting famous individuals secrets, is a smart move. Many writers still do this today. He started the trend and other gossip columnists began hiding their identities.  

Photo: Hedda Hopper, Wikipedia

With the rise of films in the twentieth century, the main focus was shifted to movie stars and their personal lives outside of filming. Celebrities are constantly under the watch of everyone around them and are never safe from the media. Hedda Hopper, an accomplished actress and gossip columnist, was someone that celebrities wanted to avoid. 

She targeted all of the big names in the film industry during this time and wrote about their shocking scandals in her columns. Hopper's columns may have negatively affected the people she was writing about, but the ability she had to release the truth was of great benefit to her.

Even today, we have major names that celebrities try to avoid in fear that they may be written about. A modern concept is the paparazzi, which celebrities can never tell when they are going to show up and start snapping pictures of them. 

Huge names such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, actors in I Love Lucy, have faced much scrutiny in gossip columns. The image of their perfect life and family was quickly brought to a halt when a gossip columnists revealed a story about Arnez having an affair with a prostitute. 

Photo: Newspapers.com

This shows the real power that writers hold. It is interesting to explore the start of gossip columns and make comparisons to what they are today. In modern times, with the rise of social media, gossiping is a constant concept. 

Social media makes anyone a target of gossip. Celebrities and major people such as government officials, are still a main target, but there has been many scandals caught on social media that have involved people who are not famous.

People will always be looking for the next story and the next big scandal. Sometimes we don't even realize how wrapped up we get in the lives of others. Gossip columns are mainly a form of pure entertainment, but sometimes they can rip apart people's once happy lives. 

But as long as the reader is satisfied, that's what matters.