Ah, yes. The media. The very thing that gives us updates on life outside our homes. However, not everyone is on board with the influx of news coverage. To many, it is nothing more than a propaganda machine to fuel government conspiracies. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, that is not what overall media was invented to do.
As the first post of 2022, I wanted to post something a little different. It’s not so much about my experiences but an observation.
The media aims to inform the public with facts that can be backed up. That is what journalism is supposed to be. However, there is a dark side to the industry that few journalists want to discuss. I’ve covered royal journalism for a while, and I did a post on it. Trying to report on the royals is difficult when the Sussex Squad is breathing down your neck with their immature and stalkerish behaviour.
Celebrity Culture Is Fickle
Celebrity culture is equally hard to report, as you never know what is correct. Furthermore, this is thanks to the tabloid media trash claiming what they’re saying is true. I wrote an article a while back about Australian celebrities calling out tabloid magazines for printing stories about them that weren’t factually true.
A story came out a few months back in one of the magazines here in Australia about television presenter Grant Denyer allegedly having an affair with his Dancing with the Stars Australia All-Stars dance partner, Lily Cornish. Grant and his wife, Cheryl, were fuming when this story came out.
Chezzi Denyer Takes On The Tabloid Media
Chezzi, who is incredibly vocal on Instagram, was understandably pissed that New Idea would print such a disparaging and upsetting story without checking their facts. According to her Insta post, even the photographer apologised about the photos being used to imply an affair. There was also a massive uproar from Grant and Chezzi’s followers, which lead New Idea to issue an apology. The story was taken down from their online publication.
According to Chezzi’s first Instagram post, she said that Lily was incredibly upset with the story too. She became an honorary member of the Denyer family, becoming a surrogate older daughter to Chezzi and Grant during her stay with them while Grant was rehearsing for the upcoming DWTS All-Stars Season.
Very few celebrities would take on the tabloid junket and win an apology. All tabloid media outlets care about is money and subscription rates. They have zero care as to whether they ruin lives and reputations. While this has been going on for decades, that is not the point of any of this. It causes the outside world to learn in one of three ways. The first is to believe what is before them without questioning the facts. Number two instantly calls a story out as fake, but only if you know what you’re looking for, i.e. claiming an actress is pregnant when they aren’t. Finally, we reach the third point where you take everything with a grain of salt and pick and choose which ones you believe.
Moreover, good on Chezzi and Grant for calling out New Idea. It was big of them to issue an apology at all.
Political Media And Government Conspiracies And Propaganda
Anyone who reads the news will know politics influence many news outlets. I won’t review which Australian news outlets align with who, but it shouldn’t matter. There are a lot of people who don’t enjoy the concept of politicians pushing their legislation down our throats and bitching about the opposing side. It has been going on for years, turning people off.
Let’s not forget that any who published political stories are being paid by their employer to boost their political party preference.
Then, there’s the whole situation with those who believe the government is spying on us. Yes, we’re talking about that annoying little itch of government conspiracies. The people who believe this type of stuff distrust the media. Former television chef Pete Evans is one of Australia’s most famous conspiracy believers. He doesn’t believe sunscreen is good for you. He thinks staring into the sun is beneficial for your eyes. Ultimately, the list goes on. Moreover, he got into trouble a couple of years ago for promoting a machine advertised to “get rid” or “prevent” COVID-19.
Ultimately, he was kicked off social media for misinformation. The guy was always a little weird as he wrote a cookbook on his preferred diet, the Paleo diet, where he was criticised for telling mothers to give their babies bone broth rather than breast milk or formula. For more, check out my post on Paleo Pete.
Thankfully, the media was smart enough to call him out on it.
Famous People’s (Not So) Hatred For The News Cycle
Some individuals hate news in general because they believe it’s spreading misinformation, a la Donald Trump’s coining of the phrase fake news. I hate Trump and everything he stands for, but at least he came up with one good thing during his tenure as President of the United States. God help us if he gets into office again. Anyway, this isn’t about him.
If you follow Project Fangirl regularly, you’ll know about Prince Harry and Meghan’s alleged hatred for the media. Any sane person who isn’t a squaddie will know they crave attention. One example I use a load on this site is Prince Hary and Meghan Markle. These two are the reason this rule was invented. They say they despise the media, but they’re constantly in it.
Harry blames the media for his mother’s death and believes that it will cause his wife’s demise if he doesn’t do something. He is utterly convinced the press is the devil incarnate. First off, the media were not responsible for Diana’s death. Her driver was drunk, speeding, and almost everyone in the car allegedly wasn’t wearing seatbelts. Yes, the paparazzi pursued them, but no one would’ve died if Henri Paul hadn’t been drinking and everyone had been wearing seatbelts.
It has become evident that Harry pushes all the media, whether it’s tabloid or legit news, into one category; scum. However, there’s something else he seems ignorant of. His wife seems to seek publicity by hiring paparazzi to photograph her. Montecito is a haven for celebrity sightings; most are left alone and roam around without being papped. Markle seeks the limelight. She needs to merch whatever she wears to make money.
