Gossip magazine
Encyclopedia
Gossip magazines feature scandalous stories about the personal lives of celebrities. This genre of magazine flourished in North America in the 1950s and early 1960s. The title Confidential alone boasted a monthly circulation in excess of ten million, and it had many competitors, with names like Whisper, Dare, Suppressed, The Lowdown, Hush-Hush, and Uncensored. These magazines included more lurid and explicit content than did the popular newspaper gossip columnist
s of the time, including tales of celebrity homosexuality and illegal drug use.
The large-circulation gossip magazines eventually gave way to supermarket tabloids, such as the National Enquirer, and to less scandal-oriented celebrity coverage in magazines like People
and Us, though small-circulation publications that harken back to the '50s approach have continued to be published. The history of gossip magazines also includes a few eccentric titles that flaunted the usual rules of acceptable taste, such as the sexually explicit Hollywood Star of the 1970s. Anorak
is a modern take on the theme.
There are nearly 400 magazines related to gossip in the news stands.
Notable gossip magazines around the world include Us Weekly
in the United States, Hello!
in the United Kingdom, Gente
and Chi
in Italy, Voici
in France, Bunte
in Germany, and East Touch
in Hong Kong. A notable internet gossip magazine is GossipMagazineOnline.com http://www.gossipmagazineonline.com rising quickly in search engines.
Gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...
s of the time, including tales of celebrity homosexuality and illegal drug use.
History
The publication generally credited as America's first national weekly gossip tabloid is Broadway Brevities and Society Gossip, which was launched in New York in 1916 and edited by a Canadian named Stephen G. Clow. Brevities started out covering high society and the A-list of the New York theater world, but by the 1930s had begun covering more general vice and ran splashy, highly-sensationalised features on sex, drugs, gang violence and crime. This was possibly the first time a gossip magazine had made real efforts to attract readers who weren't members of the elite classes; it didn't presume its readers had a close familiarity with any given social or professional world. In 1932, New York City banned newsstands from selling the racy tabloid, and it appears to have folded sometime around late 1933.The large-circulation gossip magazines eventually gave way to supermarket tabloids, such as the National Enquirer, and to less scandal-oriented celebrity coverage in magazines like People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
and Us, though small-circulation publications that harken back to the '50s approach have continued to be published. The history of gossip magazines also includes a few eccentric titles that flaunted the usual rules of acceptable taste, such as the sexually explicit Hollywood Star of the 1970s. Anorak
Anorak
An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind...
is a modern take on the theme.
There are nearly 400 magazines related to gossip in the news stands.
Notable gossip magazines around the world include Us Weekly
Us Weekly
Us Weekly is a celebrity gossip magazine, founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. The publication covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment...
in the United States, Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
in the United Kingdom, Gente
Gente (magazine)
Gente is a popular and long-running Italian celebrity gossip magazine. It is published by Hachette Filipacchi Médias....
and Chi
Chi (magazine)
Chi is an Italian weekly gossip magazine, based in Segrate, Milan, Italy.It's published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the biggest Italian publishing company.-Photo of Princess Diana:...
in Italy, Voici
Voici
Voici is a French weekly celebrity, women's magazine and tabloid, published by Prisma Presse . It was founded in 1987, and believes television reality shows in 2002 boosted circulation to 12.4 million copies per month . It claims the title of best selling French celebrity magazine, and second or...
in France, Bunte
Bunte
Bunte is a German weekly magazine; coverage includes celebrity, gossip, news and lifestyle matters. It is published by Bunte Entertainment Verlag GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media....
in Germany, and East Touch
East Touch
East Touch is a weekly Chinese language magazine written in Cantonese style in Hong Kong. It is published every Tuesday by East Touch Publishing Limited, part of Global China Group Holdings Limited.-Content:...
in Hong Kong. A notable internet gossip magazine is GossipMagazineOnline.com http://www.gossipmagazineonline.com rising quickly in search engines.