Increasingly, we are seeing our news providers giving us news that would not ever have been published in previous years. It is normal now, to see articles that were once the fodder for gossip columns and magazines.
Over the last twenty years, popular culture has crept in to news media, and has become a daily part of what is now regarded as ‘news’.
First, let’s define pop culture. It is the full spectrum of ideas, trends, attitudes and popular opinions of the masses, on ANY given subject. Popular culture presumes a consensus based upon an informal, unofficial group’s opinion. Now, in the 21st Century, as we all use the internet on a daily basis, this mainstream consensus can be developed and influenced with just one Tweet.
So, Popular Culture can be as profoundly influenced by the media as it can be by the populous.
Today, celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and even bizarre news articles are an everyday occurrence. And this news is being created and shared by ordinary people, and then picked up by news providers. Is it news?
Yes! Anything which shares information and events of interest, which shows humanity as it is today, and which gives a perspective on current affairs, is news. Popular culture is still often considered as trivial, unimportant and not news worthy. However, the world’s most popular news providers are giving readers a balance of traditional news and popular culture.
Today, the leading online news providers will post a healthy combination of current affairs, politics, sport and business news, right alongside entertainment, gossip and bizarre news items. This variety is attracting wider audiences and opening up the type of articles we are reading about.
In a world that could easily become over-loaded with dry, depressing and serious news articles, it is good to see unusual, amusing or inspiring articles sharing the same page space, and receiving high levels of attention from readers.
The majority of us access our news online on a daily basis, and as a result, we have a fantastic choice of excellent news wire services which bring us daily news in all sorts of subjects. We can now choose exactly what we read, and we can have breaking news sent straight to our mobile devices within seconds of it being posted online.
Popular culture is simply a reflection of society’s opinions, interests, likes and dislikes. It provides us with another angle with which to view the events of the world, and the actions of people. Social media and the internet have had a huge influence on the rise in prevalence of popular culture news items, and this trend does not look like it will end.
The next time you log on to your favourite news site to catch up on news, consider the articles you choose to read. Are you only accessing the traditional news items, or are you just as interested in the popular culture news items? For most people, they will be reading a mixture of both, and enjoying the amusing and interesting articles far more than the depressing news.
