Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, 4th Edition

22  Tabloid Journalism

As alluded to in Chapter 21, one of the most serious concerns of the past decade for journalists has been the increase of tabloid journalism. The explosion of the Internet and the emergence of a host of new magazine and talk shows on cable and the traditional networks brought about a new wave of sleaze journalism. But even more alarming than the expansion of such so-called news was the narrowing of the line between tabloid practices and those appearing in the so-called mainstream media. In recent years, it has become increasingly more difficult to distinguish between the two.

We will look at a number of such examples, including the sex scandal involving President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky; the Washington, D.C. area sniper ...