Is there such a thing as negative publicity?
Lately I’ve been wondering if critical news on certain individuals actually has that negative consequences for them.
At first I want to differentiate between negative news and critical news. While the majority of people will often not sympathize with a killer or animal abuser, the opinions of a criticized person might very well be shared by many people. And if not, at least they will be interested in future news on this controversial individual.
And surely, if certain people keep being covered over and over on the media, they are portrayed as relevant, making sure they are not forgotten but instead raise awareness to them. The public will form opinions on them, be it positive or negative, and want to share their thoughts. For example in form of reaction to posts, taking part in (online) discussions — just what the authors want.
While politics is not such a popular topic to talk about in society anymore in Germany, the virtual reality is just the opposite. Most arguments seem more like verbal fights than discussions, and the publishers/ authors can count on this reaction when they write on certain people and topics.
Let me be more specific: let’s take Donald Trump, for example.
He shares various conservative views and so, appeals to a wide range of economic classes. No matter how much news there are on his controversial statements on strong nationalism (wanting no Muslims to enter the US ; build a wall and make Mexico pay for it), unprofessional moments in public speeches ( mocking a disabled reporter), him going bankrupt four times ; commenting on women’s looks on his twitter),he is more popular than ever and everybody is talking about this presidential candidate.
There is a mixture of fear and surprise that he could even make it this far. People feel strongly about him because of all the news coverage on him which adds to his popularity, in the end. Some of his facebook and twitter followers might not be there because they actually share his views and feel like he’s the only one brave enough to speak what all Americans are thinking — but rather to see this controversial person’s statements first-hand. But they do add to the size of his sites, which make him more relevant and more likely to be covered in the news.
Maybe in the end, it is how Trump put it :
“You know, it really doesn`t matter what (the media) write as long as you`ve got a young and beautiful piece of a**”, because he sure ain’t got no thin skin . He can apparently stand up to any critizism. In the end, the media led him to where he is standing now.
