The Gossip Industry
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Copyright by Anne Helen Petersen 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Anne Helen Petersen Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE GOSSIP INDUSTRY: PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING STAR IMAGES, CELEBRITY GOSSIP, AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 1910 - 2010 Committee: Janet Staiger, Supervisor Thomas Schatz Michael Kackman Susan McLeland Mary Desjardins THE GOSSIP INDUSTRY: PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING STAR IMAGES, CELEBRITY GOSSIP, AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 1910 - 2010 by ANNE HELEN PETERSEN, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2011 Dedication For my mother, who has always modeled intelligence with verve. Acknowledgements I would not be the scholar I am today without the tremendous and ongoing support of a number of professors, all of whom have modeled the type of mentorship, scholarship, and dedication to the field that I try to emulate. From my first semester as an undergrad to my final semester as a Ph.D. student, Janet Staiger, Thomas Schatz, and Michael Kackman at the University of Texas, Michael Aronson at the University of Oregon, and Robert Sickels at Whitman College have served as models, mentors, colleagues, and friends. The dissertation-writing process was an arduous one made enjoyable by the efficiency and editorial guidance of Janet Staiger and the keen eyes of my committee members. I am particularly grateful to Susan McLeland and Mary Desjardins for their close readings and insight on early versions of various chapters. Over the years, I’ve accumulated a hodgepodge cohort from older and younger students and colleagues in and outside of the department, all of whom have provided intellectual and emotional support through the Ph.D. process. Courtney Brannon Donoghue, Kristen Warner, Nick Muntean, Matt Payne, Rebecca Onion, Katie Feo Kelly, Colin Tait, Caroline Leader, Kit Hughes, Mabel Rosenheck, Alyx Vesey, and Paul Monticone, I’m talking to you. I’ve also been lucky enough to enjoy the support and long distance “mentorship” from a bevy of scholars via Twitter, blogs, and conferences, with special thanks to Jason Mittell, Alisa Perren, Chris Becker, Amanda Ann Klein, and Jonathan Gray for their guidance and faith in my work. My mother kept up our Entertainment Weekly subscription for years, thus ensuring my investment in media culture even when we were both certain I’d end up a mathlete. Both She and my brother have read drafts, proofread blog entries, and drank wine with me when I couldn’t write any more. I’m so lucky to hail from a family of writers, no matter how divergent our fields. And because I always promised myself a list of esoteric dedications: For Lainey, Bethy, Pepper, and Gretchy, my heart and my laughter; For K, His Royal Bunkess, and Bennifer, you are so my favorite. For BFree yoga and for JP’s Java, which, let’s be realistic here, are more responsible for the completion of this document than any thing else. And finally for Lainey Gossip, the site that, at least for this gossip-minded girl, started it all. v THE GOSSIP INDUSTRY: PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING STAR IMAGES, CELEBRITY GOSSIP, AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 1910 - 2010 Anne Helen Petersen, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Janet Staiger Abstract: This dissertation addresses the industrial history of American-based celebrity gossip over century, beginning with the first Hollywood stars in the 1910s and reaching into “celebrified” culture of the 2010s. Gossip, broadly defined as discourse about a public figure produced and distributed for profit, can operate within the star’s good graces or completely outside of the Hollywood machine; it can be published in “old media” print and broadcast forms or online and on a phone. Regardless of form, tone, and content, gossip remains a crucial component of the ways in which star images are produced and consumed. The dissertation thus asks: how has the relationship between the gossip industry and Hollywood in general changed over the last century? And what implications do those changes have for stars, those who exploit their images, and media industries at large? vi Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 Entertainment News .......................................................................................................... 4 The Gossip Industry ...........................................................................................................5 Scandal ..............................................................................................................................12 Smut ..................................................................................................................................13 Performer/Star/Celebrity ................................................................................................14 Secondary Literature Review ............................................................................................16 Theoretical Methods and Frameworks..............................................................................23 Industrial Analysis...........................................................................................26 Discourse Analysis...........................................................................................28 Formal Analysis...............................................................................................29 Chapter Breakdown...........................................................................................................30 PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS 37 CHAPTER ONE - THE GOSSIP INDUSTRY (1910 - 1948) 38 The Gossip Players: The Studios.......................................................................................44 The Gossip Players: Photoplay and the Fan Magazines.......................................................46 The Gossip Players: The Columnists.................................................................................53 CHAPTER TWO - INDUSTRIES IN TRANSITION AND THE REEMERGENCE OF SCANDAL (1948-1958) 76 Industrial Shifts..................................................................................................................76 The Rise of Television ......................................................................................................81 Case Studies: Mitchum, Bergman, Brando, Monroe.........................................................86 “Do I Get Another Chance”...........................................................................88 “Do You Want Ingrid Bergman Back?”..........................................................92 vii “That Mad Man Marlon” ............................................................................101 “Hollywood vs. Marilyn Monroe” ................................................................107 “Tells the Facts and Names the Names” .........................................................................117 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................127 PART TWO - EXPANSION, RETRACTION, REGROUPING 136 CHAPTER THREE - INDUSTRY BREAK-UPS (1958 - 1961) 137 The Industrial Value of Stars...........................................................................................140 Expanding Coverage........................................................................................................147 The Love Triangle ..........................................................................................................151 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................164 CHAPTER FOUR - BACKLASH (1961 - 1980) 170 Jackie Fever.......................................................................................................................172 Backlash...........................................................................................................................179 Regrouping.......................................................................................................................185 Macfadden/Bartell/Downe/Charter..............................................................................187 The Laufer Empire..........................................................................................................190 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................197 CHAPTER FIVE - PERSONALITY JOURNALISM (1967 - 1980) 204 Form.................................................................................................................................213 Content............................................................................................................................218 Mode of Production........................................................................................................223 Distribution......................................................................................................................226 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................229 PART THREE - CONSIDATION AND CONGLOMERATION 236 CHAPTER SIX - THE PEOPLE EFFECT (1974 - 1990) 237 viii Ten Years That Shook Hollywood...................................................................................240 The People Effect: Publishing............................................................................................250