Saturday, September 27, 2008

To Pay or Not to Pay

Babies. From Angelina Jolie to Clay Aiken, it seems that everyone's having them these days. Call it Hollywood's hottest trend. Unfortunately, celebrity weeklies are eating it up. It's become the norm for magazines to pay millions for pictures of Hollywood's elite little tikes. So Ed got to thinking: Why are the pictures so desirable? And is it justifiable for mags to pay that much -- or at all?

Ed's come to a few conclusions of his own. First, celebrity babies in the U.S. are held in the same esteem as royalty in other countries. Ed's envisioning those moments when a European princess comes to the top of a large staircase and shows her child to the press for the first time. (A similar incident occurred in America involving Michael Jackson and a balcony, but it wasn't as well-received.) Let's face it: Whether we agree or disagree, there is a demand for these pictures. After all, magazine covers featuring a celebrity and their child sell better than most other covers. Ed's not defending celebrity weeklies; he's just putting the facts out there.

Secondly, Ed decided that maybe more of the fault lies with the celebrities themselves. Not only are they allowing a magazine to pay for a picture of their child, they're also in some cases pocketing the cash. (Like they need it, right?) Ed has to give credit to Angelina and Brad for at least donating the money to charity. And Halle Berry showed what she's made of when she refused to be pictured with her baby girl, Nahla.

But as always, Ed will let you draw conclusions of your own. What do you think of the celebrity baby craze? Are celebrities exploiting their children? And more importantly, has the issue harmed the public's perception of magazines?

Love,
Ed

1 comment:

Jen W said...

America is obsessed with celebrities and Americans can’t wait to see what kind of ridiculously adorable baby a high-profile couple has produced. The celebrity-baby craze in America has gone overboard and the gossip magazines and the celebrities are cashing in. The couples who sell their baby’s photos are exploiting their children for money they don’t need and so are the gossip magazines. Every week, another magazine claims that a celeb is pregnant so they can bank in on America’s favorite gossip topic. Claiming a celebrity is pregnant when she is not, profits the magazine but what are the consequences magazine’s future? When the gossip magazine’s accusation is discredited, readers may turn to another magazine in the future or choose another outlet for their information. Readers are already turning to the web and we don’t need to give them another reason to do so.