May 29, 2019
Met Gala 2019 invites Influencers-
The Met Gala is an exclusive event that fundraises for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The invited guests are those that resemble; ‘celebrity stars, young creatives and industry paragon alike’. The 2019 Met Gala invited four influencers to attend the event, which was the largest amount in the event’s history.
James Charles is a YouTuber that was was one of the invited influencers to the event. He received a lot of backlash regarding his post about the significance of influencers attending the Gala.
James Charles’ official instagram post, created backlash because of his sentence regarding ‘influencer representation’ and being a ‘catalyst’. People weren’t happy because he was suggesting that influencers aren’t recognised enough in the media, and made it sound like he felt he was discriminated against. James Charles’ YouTube video about his Met Gala experience, was based around his invitation to the event, suggesting the overall gain of respect for influencers and how they each gained their fame. Other stars in his video also spoke about how significant it was for influencers to become a part of the exclusive event, which suggests Charles’ post wasn’t a one sided feeling.
What is news? :
The social media influencer news is mostly distributed online in blog articles, social media threads and YouTube videos. This is because the news is mostly classified as gossip and entertainment styled news. An issue surrounding entertainment and gossip styled news, is that it can be biased because there are many different sides to each story. If a journalist doesn’t state an equal selection of different viewpoints, then they aren’t providing the whole news event and can risk being biased (Applegate, 2007, p.5). Another issue surrounding gossip styled news, is that people question whether gossip is newsworthy and how it can be constructed in a factual way (Hannis, 2015, p.172). Hannis (2015) suggests, that gossip news being discussed can ruin a person’s reputation because it’s letting allowing the public to be aware of events occuring, and sometimes the public never forgives (p.167). Referring to Charles’ posts, he was already a controversial topic often in the media, which could mean that when the public see another issue surrounding him his reputation could be destroyed even more. Hannis (2015), also states that news surrounding a controversy of a public public figure is newsworthy because of their social status (p.167). This suggests that if it had been anyone else that had written the controversial post it wouldn’t be classified as news.
The life of a social media influencer is distributed online through their social media to their fan base. This means that the news about them is also displayed online because their fan base is normalised to being updated online. Armstrong, McAdams & Cain (2005), suggests through their studies that young people are the generation that is commonly interested in entertainment styled news (p.84). The younger generation aren’t viewing their news through the traditional media ways, because those ways aren’t convenient in their everyday life (Armstrong, et al,. 2005, p.84. This suggests that accessing their news online and through social media is more convenient because it’s part of their daily routine and it’s accessible anywhere. The studies also suggest that stories that are shorter and get the point across quicker, are ones that are more appealing to the younger generation (Armstrong, et al., 2005, p.84). This shows that in order to interest the younger generation it needs to be easy for them to read and conveniently displayed. News through YouTube and other visual presentations are convenient, because they summarise and explain news events for the consumers, without them having to do anything except listen and view.
Objectivity and News Balance :
The title of Hollyscoop’s video, suggests that the content is going to be bias, because it openly includes their opinion on the story. ‘James Charles Met Gala 2019 Post BACKFIRES In The Most EMBARASSING Way!’ This statement breaches objectivity in journalism This statement breaches objectivity in journalism because the news source has already included that an opinionated word regarding the event. Objective journalism ensures that the news is presented free of bias and outside influence to the consumer (Applegate, 2007, p.5). The affect of this is that viewers aren’t getting the full understanding of the story, because their information has been altered by being biased.
Hollyscoop’s reporter Maddison Hill, also added her own personal opinions when she presented the story on James Charles’ instagram post. Hill referred to Charles’ instagram post as “really dumb”, which supports that her reporting on the event was biased and also showed that the news presented wasn’t balanced. Applegate (2007) suggests, that news balance means that it shows an equal view of both positive and negative sides of a story (p.5). Hill also reported, “James you are involved in a scandal every week, that I, the media have to cover”. Applegate (2007) also states, that objectivite reporting means that there is no first person references or personal opinions included from the reporter (p.5). McQuail (2013) argues that when writing biased opinions, if people in society don’t agree with the journalist, the point of the story and credibility can both be damaged. This supports the idea that reporting with news balance and objectivity is significant with ensuring all of the important news surrounding and event is covered. It also ensures that there is no backlash from viewers about disagreeing with opinions being discussed, because all of the information is factual.
McQuail (2013) argues that when writing biased opinions, if people in society don’t agree with the journalist, the point of the story and credibility can both be damaged. This supports the idea that reporting with news balance and objectivity is significant with ensuring all of the important news surrounding and event is covered. It also ensures that there is no backlash from viewers about disagreeing with opinions being discussed, because all of the information is factual.
Hollyscoop’s reporter Maddison Hill, also added her own personal opinions when she presented the story on James Charles’ instagram post. Hill referred to Charles’ instagram post as “really dumb”, which supports that her reporting on the event was biased and showed that the news wasn’t balanced. Applegate (2007) suggests, that news balance means that it shows an equal view of both positive and negative sides of a story (p.5). Hill also reported, “James you are involved in a scandal every week, that I, the media have to cover”. Applegate (2007) also states, that objectivite reporting means that there is no first person references or personal opinions included from the reporter (p.5).
Relevance for News content :
In the Metro article, the journalist used positive examples to describe Lilly Singh and Liza Koshy to make the negativity around James Charles’ Met Gala experience stand out. The comparison placed both positives and negatives in the same sentence by stating, “James Charles faced backlash” in the same sentence with “Lilly Singh and Liza Koshy shone”. The comparison helped to form the consumers opinion of the news event that the journalist wanted them to. Charnley suggests a good journalist is able to present background information surrounding an event to help the consumer from an opinion, without the journalist specifically adding their opinion (Applegate, 2007, p.6). This allows the consumer to view the Metro article and understand all the background information about how other YouTube stars were positively discussed compared to Charles. It also creates a balanced news piece by showing two equal sides of the event (Applegate, 2007, p.5).
The WWD article also clearly states different viewpoints on the event by discussing James Charles’ post, but also stating his success with his Met Gala experience. This suggests that they are presenting an unbiased and balanced news piece because they are focused on answering the article title question. The title as a question helps format their entire article so that it only refers to relevant evidence that is going to answer the question. This refers back to the idea on newsworthiness, and only adding what is actually needed for the public to understand the news event. Hannis (2015), questions whether entertainment news is there to appeal to the interest of the public, or whether it is actually to keep an eye on public figures to keep them honest (p.167). In WWD’s article, the content applies both to exposing Charles to keep him honest and keeping up with the public’s interest on public figure scandals.
Social Media Engagement :
Each of the online news articles show screenshots of different twitter users, all replying to James Charles’ post about their own opinions on “influencer representation”. One of the twitter users that replied to the post was Tyler Oakley, who is also a YouTuber and social media influencer, however doesn’t share the same views about influencer representation. These engagements can help the consumer to form an opinion of the news event without the journalist having to share their opinions. A study took place to understand if young people could be influenced through comments on social media about pro-drinking and anti-drinking (Eads, 2018). The results showed that individuals were desired to drink after viewing pro-drinking comments, and felt less of a desire after seeing anti-drinking comments (Eads, 2018). This shows how influenced individuals can be through viewing others opinions. The head author of the study, Dr Jonathan Noel, suggested that social media doesn’t just show messages, it also shows how different users feel about that message (Eads, 2018). Noel also said that the individuals are influenced by other users’ responses, and that it also increases the reach of who views it (Eads, 2018). This suggests that when other twitter users replies were posted about James Charles, it can influence a viewer to feel a certain way without a journalist being biased. The posting options on social media allow users to create a level of engagement, because specific feelings of a user can be typed and posted for anyone to see. Since there is engagement from the user, people viewing their opinions take them into account. When journalists use other users posts to present their news, it can be classified as a ‘collaborative artistic environment’ (Smith, 2009, p.181). This is because they are using other people’s ideas and opinions to make the consumer understand in the way the journalist intended.
On YouTube there are many channels that are specifically for sharing news to their consumers. If you subscribe to their channel, you can be notified when they post new content, which means an individual can always stay updated with their own personal interests in the news sector. Hollyscoop posts videos updating their subscribers with entertainment news in fast paced clips. According to Gil de Zúñiga & Hinsley (2013), ‘good journalism’ refers to news sources that are able to keep them entertained and informed (p.929). Hollyscoop always uses energetic reporters on camera to challenge the way news can be presented. This means viewers can be satisfied with viewing their news, as they are entertaining them at the same time by making their news experience enjoyable.
References:
- Applegate, E. (2007). The Concepts of “News Balance and “Objectivity.” Public Relations Quarterly, 52(4), 5–8. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=38230343&site=eds-live
- Armstrong, C. L., McAdams, M. J., & Cain, J. (2015). What Is News? Audiences May Have Their Own Ideas. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 23(2), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2015.1013102
- Charles, J. (2019, May 07). I Got Invited To The Met Gala. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE4cfVDMHSo
- Charles, J. (n.d.). James Charles Instagram Post. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from https://www.instagram.com/jamescharles/p/BxJDgUsgi26/?hl=en
- Eads, L. (2018, November 15). Study sheds light on power of social media alcohol ads. Retrieved from https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/11/study-sheds-light-on-power-of-social-media-alcohol-ads/
- Gil de Zúñiga, H., & Hinsley, A. (2013). The Press Versus the Public. Journalism Studies, 14(6), 926–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2012.744551
- Griffin, L. (2019, May 14). YouTuber James Charles under fire for ‘influencer representation’ comment. Retrieved from https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/07/youtuber-james-charles-fire-influencer-representation-comment-lilly-singh-liza-koshy-shine-met-gala-9438421/
- Hannis, G. (2016). The Len Brown affair: The roles of new and old media in a New Zealand political sex scandal. Pacific Journalism Review, 22, 160–171. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsihs&AN=edsihs.598489481038981&site=eds-live
- Hollyscoop. (2019, May 08). James Charles Met Gala 2019 Post BACKFIRES In The Most EMBARRASSING Way! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJU3DF5lnHc
- McQuail, D. (2013). Journalism & Society. Los Angeles: SAGE Publ.
- Smith, S. (2009). The creative uses of facebook as a tool for artistic collaboration. In EVA 2009 London Conference, 181–191. Retrieved from https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/2764
- Tietjen, A. (2019, May 10). Are Influencers Now Part of Fashion’s Elite? Retrieved from https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/met-gala-influencers-1203125978/
- Vogue. (2019, May 14). Met Gala 2019: Celebrities, Red Carpet Fashion, and Beauty Trends. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/tag/event/met-gala
