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The article presents a commentary on scholar research about the benefits of organizational celebrity. It is the author’s view that less attention in the research has been paid to constituents’ role in the process of gaining, maintaining, and losing organizational celebrity. Works of researchers Anastasiya Zavyalova, Michael D. Pfarrer, and Rhonda K. Reger, Thomas J. Roulet and Marco Clemente are included.

This conceptual paper uses field theory and a production of culture perspective to explore the celebritisation process in structured reality television. This relatively new genre, typified by The Only Way Is Essex, blends fiction with fact and constitutes a new, playful and interactive iteration of the broader category of reality television. We identify three culturally productive models that create new celebrity discourses and establish a theoretical underpinning for the role of structured reality in the celebritisation process; tournaments of value, spectacle and transformative performances. Whilst not exclusive to structured reality television, these models are particularly effective at explaining how celebrities are interactively understood in an increasingly mediatised marketplace. We contribute a model which proposes that celebritisation in structured reality is a homologising process through which celebrity meaning is legitimised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of glamour, its complexities and its relationship with and role within celebrity culture. We explore glamour in the context of Nigella, the London-born TV cook, food writer and self-proclaimed ‘domestic goddess’ of British culinary culture. In our study we consider the interconnections between glamour, specifically Italian-style retro-glamour, and performativity in Nigella’s career. We also address the role of embodiment and authenticity in the masquerade of femininity. Our analysis focuses on Nigella’s glamour over time, considering its creation, enactment and reaffirmation following scandal. We conclude by speculating on glamour’s complex and ambivalent relationship with celebrity culture, and the role of vulnerability in creating authentic and enduring glamour in contemporary consumer society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article considers the role of the celebrity gossip periodical "US Weekly" as ephemeral media in the U.S. Topics discussed include the value of understanding celebrity culture to understanding media cultures, implication of the belief of the celebrity media industry that celebrity gossip magazines should not be preserved, and the centrality of "US Weekly" within contemporary celebrity and media cultures.

This paper examines media representations of Welsh rugby player Gavin Henson, arguing that through analysis of media discourses we can trace shifting shapes of masculinities in the (post)modern era of sport. Contradiction and inconsistencies are prevalent in the narratives that accompany the equally conflicting images of Henson, who both conforms to and challenges traditional rugby playing masculinities. The paper examines articles from Welsh and British newspapers from a critical (pro)feminist perspective, arguing that Henson transcends boundaries in a way that no rugby player has ever done before and analyzes his place as the first metrosexual rugby star. The study also examines the somewhat problematic concept of metrosexuality within critical (pro)feminist theories of sport and attempts to conceptualize the position and significance of the term. This work brings images of the continual, dialectic process of the (re)defining of gender identities to the study of masculinities, and sport masculinities in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using four Chinese celebrities as stimuli and 880 Singaporean undergraduates as respondents, this research verifies the factor structure of the celebrity endorsers' credibility scale, which Ohanian (1990) developed from American samples. The results show that the original scale's factor structure fits the Singaporean data well. All indicators are significantly related to their specified factor, and the inter-factor correlation coefficients are moderate and significant. The composite factor reliability, the Cronbach's α, and the variance extracted measures are satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies address how companies should react when celebrity endorsers with whom they wish to associate are blameless or blameworthy for causing negative events (e.g., accidents). Research findings on stigmas suggest a linear endorser blame-company evaluation relationship, such that companies should associate (disassociate) with endorsers who have low (high) levels of blame for negative events. In contrast, research findings on defensive distortions suggest a nonmonotonic blame-evaluation relationship: Owing to the tendency to downgrade low blame persons so that they seem deserving of bad fate, companies benefit from associating with moderate, rather than low or high, blame celebrities. The current research suggests that the stage of the company-endorser relationship influences the pattern of findings and the type of endorser decisions companies should make. In Study 1 (n=121), consistent with stigma research, companies fared better when dismissing existing endorsers with high blame and keeping those with low blame. In Study 2 (n=108), consistent with research on defensive distortions, when making decisions about potential endorsers, companies fared best when hiring low blame candidates and worst when rejecting moderate blame candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a new approach to celebrity endorsement. Previous explanations, especially the source credibility and source attractiveness models are criticized, and an alternative meaning transfer model is proposed. According to this model, celebrities' effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings with which they are endowed. The model shows how meanings pass from celebrity to product and from product to consumer. The implications of this model for our understanding of the consumer society are considered. Research avenues suggested by the model are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study represents a supportive test of the attractiveness aspect of the "match-up" hypothesis of celebrity/product congruence discussed in depth by Kahle and Homer (1985). The hypothesis implies that the physical attractiveness of a celebrity endorser may only enhance both product- and ad-based evaluations if the product's characteristics "match-up" with the image conveyed by the celebrity. Empirically, it was found that for an attractiveness-related product, use of a physically attractive celebrity (Tom Selleck) was observed to significantly enhance measures of spokesperson credibility and attitude toward an ad, relative to use of a physically unattractive celebrity (Telly Savalas). Alternatively, the physically attractive celebrity was found to have no effect on various spokesperson-, product-and ad-based dependent measures relative to the physically unattractive celebrity for an attractiveness-unrelated product. Implications of these findings for advertising strategy are discussed, and directions for future research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines celebrity endorsements in advertising using a two-sided framework, in terms of the internalization and identification processes of social influence as discussed by Kelman (1961). The two-sided execution was designed to increase a viewer's perception of advertiser credibility by including a discussion of a limitation of the advertised service. Results show that when compared to a traditional one-sided celebrity endorsement, the two-sided communication elicited significantly higher advertising credibility and effectiveness ratings, higher evaluation of the sponsor in terms of perceived overall quality of service, as well as a significantly greater intention to use the advertised service. These findings suggest that the use of a celebrity appeal in a two-sided form is an effective advertising strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between mainstream media and celebrities is intricate, mutually beneficial and sometimes mutually destructive. The essence of 'celebrity culture' is itself deeply rooted in the media. This article discusses the mediation of the Oscar Pistorius trial using the lens of critical political economy of media. A first in South Africa in many ways - including the live televization of court proceedings, the creation of a special dedicated TV channel for the coverage, the stratospheric viewership figures and the attendant commercial benefits for media houses, among other 'firsts' - the trial came to be characterized in some media as a 'trial of the century', or that South Africa itself was on trial. And yet, it could be argued that this was just another South African trial, whose coverage by the media, however, mirrored trends in the West, thanks in part to the country's reintegration into the global political economy post-Apartheid, and in part to the developments in new media and communication technologies. What perhaps sets the trial apart, and therefore quite interesting for this article, is that the spotlight on this case did not pay sufficient attention to the overall context of violence in South Africa, especially violence among ordinary black people who do not make the headlines and especially violence that involves spousal killings. The trial presented both local and global media with a fleeting moment to hit it big in the context of declining media economics, and while its live televization may have played the pedagogical role of educating citizens about the intricacies of the Court system, the overall focus on the sensational, the drama and the individual outside of the broader context negated the media's role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Celebrity gossip blogs, some with millions of readers, are important sites for the interactive construction of addiction. The highly editorial nature of these blogs combined with their low bar to participation make them ideal sites to study how bloggers and readers interpret celebrity drug use. Through a case study of the widely known gossip blogger Perez Hilton’s coverage of actress Lindsay Lohan’s legal troubles, and reader responses to these stories, I show how interactive discussion of celebrity reinforces dominant constructions of habitual drug use as a form of badness and sickness best treated with jail and coerced treatment. Overall, I argue that new media forms such as celebrity gossip blogs are unlikely but important sites of social problem construction, maintenance and reinvigoration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study explores the production of fame and celebrity through the covers of People magazine during the first decade of the 21st century. The findings suggest that People's cover-worthy celebrities, mostly entertainers, were featured because of a combination of accomplishments and dramatic personal lives. The selection of predominantly white celebrities or minorities from their circles suggests that the magazine aims to glorify a racially homogeneous celebrity elite, with little regard for the demographic realities of American society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a critical reading of celebrity media to examine new understandings of the body. Reviewing before-and-after cosmetic surgery images, I argue that celebrity photography surfaces a dual tendency. The body of cosmetic surgery is often conceived as inert raw material, the passive recipient of technological modification. On the other hand the body is also seen as active and unpredictable, in ways that correspond to new materialist understandings of the body. These understandings take shape alongside a biometric dynamic that has made its way into celebrity media as well, one that promises to decode the surgically transformed body. Acknowledging that the body is agentic--lively and willful in its own right, and thus subject to change in ways that both sustain and destabilize normative standards--opens out new perspectives on cosmetic surgery and other body modification practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, the author considers how the cult of celebrity has defined democracy and politics in the United States. It reports that the use of the press to influence public opinion by politicians began with U.S. President Andrew Jackson and was well used during the U.S. Civil War by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. U.S. President Ronald Reagan is notable as using his celebrity status as actor to gain political office. Other topics include public perceptions of political personality, the use of mass media and the Internet to achieve political goals, and political platforms.

The present experimental study examined the impact of celebrity gossip magazine coverage on pregnant women through the lens of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). In total, 301 pregnant women were randomly assigned to view highly sexually objectifying full-body images and accompanying text depicting pregnant celebrities, low objectifying headshot-only images and accompanying text depicting celebrities, or images of baby products with no people depicted (control). Exposure to the headshot-only condition resulted in significantly more self-objectification than exposure to control images. We speculate exposure to the headshot-only images primed self-objectification in participants because they visualized nonpregnant, thin, toned, and sculpted celebrity bodies that are frequently objectified by the media. Further analyses revealed that participants’ stage in pregnancy, history with pregnancy, and age moderated the main effects. Among those in their first trimester, assignment to the headshot-only condition significantly predicted state self-objectification; however, among those in their third trimester, the full-body condition predicted state self-objectification at a level of marginal significance. Further, exposure to the headshot-only stimuli predicted self-objectification for those having no prior live births. Among those participants in the younger age group, exposure to the headshot-only condition significantly predicted self-objectification; however, among those in the middle age group, the full-body condition significantly predicted self-objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article proposes to redefine celebrity as a kind of capital, thereby extending Bourdieu's field theory. This redefinition is necessary, it is argued, because one of the main limitations shared by current definitions of celebrity is their lack of explanatory power of the convertibility of celebrity into other resources, such as economic or political capital. Celebrity capital, or broadly recognizability, is conceptualized as accumulated media visibility that results from recurrent media representations. In that sense, it is a substantial kind of capital and not a subset or special category of social or symbolic capital, the latter being defined as legitimate recognition by other agents in a social field. Rather than adding another definition of celebrity next to many others, the notion of celebrity capital proposed here should be seen as an attempt to integrate the existing approaches of celebrity into a single comprehensive conceptualization that can enable us to grasp this societal and cultural phenomenon better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand advertising by using celebrity endorsement is a very popular strategy among marketers. This practice has been used for almost a century and its popularity has been constantly growing. Frequent use of this strategy is based on the assumption that the positive image and certain personal characteristics will be transferred from a celebrity to a brand. In this paper, we have presented four basic theories/models relating to the involvement of celebrities in brand advertising: the source credibility model, the source attractiveness model, the meaning transfer model, and celebrity/product fit model. These four models are the basis for most of the research in this area. In addition, the review of previous studies on the impact of this strategy on the effectiveness of advertising and brand image has been presented. Generally, studies have provided the evidence that the involvement of a celebrity in advertising produces significantly more favourable consumer reactions (higher level of attention, the better recall of the message and brand name, more favourable attitudes and purchase intentions etc.), as opposed to the involvement of an unknown person in advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary scholarship has conceptualized modern fame as an open system in which people continually move in and out of celebrity status. This model stands in stark contrast to the traditional notion in the sociology of stratification that depicts stable hierarchies sustained through classic forces such as social structure and cumulative advantage. We investigate the mobility of fame using a unique data source containing daily records of references to person names in a large corpus of English-language media sources. These data reveal that only at the bottom of the public attention hierarchy do names exhibit fast turnover; at upper tiers, stable coverage persists around a fixed level and rank for decades. Fame exhibits strong continuity even in entertainment, on television, and on blogs, where it has been thought to be most ephemeral. We conclude that once a person’s name is decoupled from the initial event that lent it momentary attention, self-reinforcing processes, career structures, and commemorative practices perpetuate fame. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose - We propose to capitalize on recent research on tourism marketing, destination choice, but also and mainly on conceptual reflexions and research on emotional and symbolical brand relationship. We try to understand how destinations could communicate, using destination ambassadors; in order to better attract travellers. Methodology - this is a theoretical article presenting key concepts and their relevance to tourism marketing. We present the key concepts and analyse cases or real-life examples of destination ambassadors uses, trying to show the relevance of the described concepts. We use research key concepts and results in Affective marketing, Environmental psychology, and Experiential marketing, exploring issues of persuasion by three persuasion routes through which ambasadors can impact consumer choices. Approach - This article is a case-based theoretical reflection, aimed at deepening our level of understanding of how and why ambassadors could matter in tourism destination and branding in general. We start with real-life examples, and show in several cases what does not work and why, suggesting better professional practices based on theory. Findings - We illustrate the concept of destination ambassadors with some real examples. We show that the concept of brand ambassador and destination ambassador are often understood in a very limited approach with confusion, and mot much effects because they only rely on "strike power", famousness. We propose improvements, suggesting three persuasion routes: cognitive, affective and symbolical. We define "symbols" in branding. We find out that Affective and Symbolical marketing research could dramatically improve our understanding and good use of ambassadors in touristical destination and marketing in general. We also propose three key definitions in tourism marketing. We propose a reflection on how the Deep metaphors conceptualized by Zaltman, actually relate to Experiential marketing and do make sens in destination branding; we show that ambassadors could largely contribute to it, using such theoretical framework. In a last section, we take a number of examples and formulate recommendations to practicioners, specific to different sorts of destinations such as spas, ski resorts, hotels, etc. We also suggest to enlarge our vision of "marketing" to creating value in a more sustainable, ecological manner. It encapsulates the idea of creating value for all stakeholders, relying all the old concept of Service Profit Chain in services marketing, and on recent research in Tourism marketing. We suggest to think the option of co-branding for both destinations and ambassadors, especially via Online Social Media. The originality of the research - It consists of two main points. First, although it seems rules/breaking, we simply stick to the modern definition of marketing - marketing seen as a relationship construction process - and to research contributions, in proposing to better understand how ambassadors could be better used for creating value for targeted consumers, in a consistent manner with the destination positioning. We seem to be very provocative in questioning the practices of practicioners using mainly celebrities; but we rather want to enhance more profound practices and more efficiency in business. We also remind that Marketing is not to be seen as a Communication or Manipulation process, but as a value delivery process, and propose how ambassadors could contribute to it. Second, we draw attention on some key concepts largely ignored in Experiential marketing, and on the importance of more thought. The principle of parcimony also asks us to communicate in a less superficial manner, and in a more efficient way. In the context of Ambassadors in tourism destination, that means we might need to think and understand more, use less Celebrity effects, and more, ambassadors consistent with brand emotional and symbolical positioning. Those can be celebrities, or non famous humans, virtual agents, animals or other non human objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects upon the recent intersection of two prominent figures in contemporary American culture, namely the celebrity and the animated animal. Historically, animated animals have achieved celebrity and stardom (e.g. Mickey Mouse), and, in turn, movie stars have made appearances in animated film (e.g. in Hollywood Steps Out (Tex Avery 1941)). But there is a novel convergence that occurs with the recent popularization of celebrity voice-acting in American feature animation. With celebrity voice-acting, the celebrity voice is disembodied and reassigned to an animated body, often that of an animal, and this concurrent vocal presence and physical absence allows celebrities and their animated animal counterparts to engage in a symbiotic relationship, relieving both the star and the animated animal of some aspect of their bodily confines: the star has the opportunity to dissociate his or her performance from the constant scrutiny of extratextual media representations of his or her body along with the personal fallibility implicit in those images; reciprocally, the animal character, often viewed in western traditions as a commodity or resource for consumption and ridicule, can transcend its bodily containment and linguistic impotence and participate in a social, cultural and political discourse by means of its borrowed celebrity voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay offers an account of “sexting's” cultural value and social uses by examining celebrities' production and distribution of sexual imagery on Twitter. It argues that as a result of technological convergence and the prevalence of social media, teens and celebrities are using “candid” images of their sexuality to remediate themselves in a fashion that generates a specific form of user-generated capital. Ultimately, this perspective is used to argue that the anxiety surrounding high school-age sexters has less to do with teens documenting their sexuality than it does with the ways that new forms of text-based media articulate the libidinal status of teenage sexuality in contemporary culture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we define the notion of ‘celebrity news’, emphasizing the fact that the portrayal of film stars embodies the imitable and the inimitable and, consequently, points towards values. In that context, we discuss the results of a thematic content analysis of a wide corpus of the daily and weekly European, French-speaking printed media to reveal which values are highlighted in celebrity news; we also compare these results with the contemporary values which emerge from recent European and global surveys of values. We then compare the various types of printed media. Finally, we focus on a specific aspect emerging from the main content analysis: the ‘meltdown’ or ‘fall from grace’, which records the decline of a star figure. Such narratives are good examples of syncretism in values, in which very contradictory attributes in celebrities are made to coexist, yet in which the subversive aspect of such a confrontation is passed over. We conclude by showing that the widespread negotiation of different values perceptible in reporting on celebrity figures is a sign of an era of change and re-evaluation, and therefore deserving of study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study explores the differential effects of having a National/Regional celebrity in an advertisement/ endorsement. More specifically the study intends to find out whether a National celebrity would have a more favorable impact on consumer attitudes than a Regional celebrity when endorsing the same product. Experimental design was used as the research methodology. A 3 (National Celebrity/Regional Celebrity/No Celebrity) X 2 (High/Low Involvement Product) design was conducted on student sample. The experiment was conducted on a total of 240 respondents with fictitious ads as stimuli. National celebrities were found to create more favorable consumer attitudes than regional celebrities. However, the National celebrity was also found to create a more favorable consumer attitude given the product was low involvement. It was interesting to find that the no celebrity treatment created more favorable consumer attitudes than regional celebrity condition. The study suggested that celebrity endorsements were useful but the nature of the product also has an influence on the success. One limitation was the restriction to print advertisements and another was restriction to celebrity of only one region. A major implication for the manager is that it is always better to use a National celebrity than a regional one. However, for high involvement products, celebrity endorsement need not be the only success factor. The contribution of the study is in an area which is well researched but addressing a research question which has not been investigated before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newsreader has been a constant fixture of television since its inception but for the most part they have remained elusive objects of study, slipping between journalism studies and celebrity studies. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature by providing a brief historical overview of television newsreading in Australia, together with an analysis of the relationship between newsreaders, gender, celebrity and ratings. In this way we want to put forward a new model for thinking about the relationship between the newsreader and celebrity, as not being antithetical concepts, but rather complementary parts of the marketed newsreader's function: a figure who is as heavily implicated in the marketing and promotion of news as they are in its dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of U.S. President Barack Obama from the standpoint of his impact on visual culture. It focuses on the ways in which his image has attained a type of iconic status. Comparisons are drawn between Obama's presence in the mass media and the images of other American celebrities of African descent, such as the television talk show host Oprah Winfrey and the rapper Jay-Z. Topics related to the history of racial symbolism and race relations in America are mentioned in this context.

The article presents an in-depth examination into the popular reception of the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy during his career lifetime. Details are given profiling the novelist's career and his growth as a national celebrity in 19th-century Russia. Elements of his popularity discussed include his appearance and depiction in the news, political and popular cartoons, and his reception among the intellectual circles of the nation. Several divergent views on Tolstoy's social and political ideas are mentioned in turn, especially the among the rising socialist groups.

The author discusses social psychology and the social comparison concept, which describes mental and behavioral mechanisms according to which individuals evaluate themselves in relation to others. He suggests that comparing oneself is depended upon the socioeconomic conditions in which individual comparisons are made. He discusses the development of jealousy and envious sentiments in Democratic societies as noted by 19th century French political scholar and historian Alexis de Tocqueville. Factors influencing the frequency and intensity of comparisons among individuals such as exposure to evaluation systems in schools and celebrities portrayed in the media are also discussed.

Nowadays, personal elements are far less important than the means of transmitting news about the noteworthy. The Internet has been important in this regard, but this process began well before its advent. Nevertheless, the rise of new media may have the consequence that the term 'hero' is no longer relevant for study. Situations where individuals within a community accrue fame through the oral transmission of stories about their deeds may be few and far between. Are we now living in an 'age of celebrity' that effectively means the demise of the hero? In the present article, we use a case study of 'Blanket Man' - an iconic Wellington street dweller - to reflect upon these important questions. Material presented comes from both detailed observational fieldwork and media sources. We argue that Blanket Man is literally a Wellington 'urban legend'; however, it is not clear what celebrity term best describes his situation, because the way he has become well known certainly does not fit the existing models of celebrity creation. Much commentary places a dominant emphasis on the 'media'; we highlight the continued importance of the spatial routines and face-to-face interaction of everyday life in the construction of this locally legendary character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By broadening the concept of the political to include the politics of celebrities, this paper aims to examine how the concept of 'Africa' becomes produced by two western celebrities, Bob Geldof and Bono, both in their own discourse and in the media's representation of them. Ii argue that they present Africa not only as a place but also as a purpose in the world system. Although Bono and Geldof see themselves as striving for socio-political change in the continent, their representations end up reinforcing the image of Africa as a place in need of western help, guidance and love to become, to grow and to exist. As a result, Geldof's and Bono's humanitarian discourses can be seen to play at least three crucial functions in the wider political context: legitimising Western power and authority over Africa, popularizing and organizing western public sentiments to support these actions, and protecting western strategic interests in the continent as well as in the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1939, Walter Winchell coined celebutante in recognition of young Brenda Frazier's status and fame. More recently, celebu- has detached and become a productive combining form. Part of that productivity can be ascribed to its felicitous phonological properties. Many celebu- coinages, however, appear in blogs. Thus, the productivity of celebu- results from the specific register conditions of blogs. The specific case of celebu- reveals much about these conditions--the need for semantic economy, the saliency of humor, the function of nominalization, as well as the role of critique and sometimes cruelty. Additionally, celebu- coinages illustrate how blogs have emerged as sites of linguistic innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three studies attempt to better explain how celebrities are used effectively as conditioned stimuli in the associative learning process. Study 1 establishes that direct affect transfer can occur using celebrities via conditioning. Study 2 suggests that celebrity conditioning will be more effective when there is an appropriate fit (belongingness) between the celebrity and the product endorsed—also known as the match-up hypothesis. Finally, Study 3 examines whether attitudes toward brands paired with celebrities are resistant to efforts to extinguish them using extinction procedures. The findings suggest that conditioning with celebrities yields brand attitudes that are robust and enduring. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The gossip - or celebrity - press has a long history in Spain but in recent years the sector has enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity. This largely reflects the emergence of a raft of new titles which appeal to more populist tastes and which do not conform to traditional journalistic ethical values. As a consequence there has been both popular debate about the legitimacy of these techniquesand legislation aimed at curbing their excesses. This paper explores the rise of these magazines and their social effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All journalistic media share a number of significant characteristics. Despite this verity, however, this paper puts forward an argument for a concept which might be labeled "magazine exceptionalism." Underlying the concept is the proposition that the magazine form is a genuinely different one. As a result, periodicals can be usefully understood to lie on a continuum of function, ranging in both intent and effect from the reflective to the transformative. The paper claims that magazines not only reflect or are a product of the social reality of the times, but they also serve a larger and more pro-active function - that they can also be a catalyst, shaping the social reality of their sociocultural moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is relevant in the use of attractive and credible celebrities in advertisements. A celebrity endorser is seen as a model who enjoys recognition from the public and who can be seen as an ubiquitous feature of marketing today. The use of celebrity endorsers is a fairly common practice in many organisations in supporting their corporate or brand image. This article focuses on both the attractiveness and also the credibility of celebrities in advertisements. It is anticipated that attractive celebrities and credible celebrities could influence attitudes positively, and that this will eventually lead to the purchasing of the advertised products and services. O'Mahony and Meenaghan's (1997/1998) Perceptions of Celebrity Endorsements Scale was used to measure the overall attitudes of students on celebrity endorsements. Separate sets of items were developed to measure attractive and credible celebrities separately. The internal consistency reliability of these measurement scales reflected high scores (α > 0.70) on all items. In general, the respondents positively perceived celebrity endorsements. However, the overall rating of respondents in respect of an attractive celebrity in an advertisement was decidedly more unfavourable. Results also showed attitudes towards credible celebrity endorsements to be neither positive nor negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies were carried out to investigate the relationship between attributional style (Study 1), self-esteem (Study 2), and different forms of celebrity worship. Entertainment social celebrity worship (the most normal form considered) was unrelated to attributional style or self-esteem; intense personal celebrity worship was related positively to self-esteem but also to a propensity toward stable and global attributions; and borderline pathological celebrity worship (the most negative form considered) was related to external, stable, and global attributions. These results were independent of whether participants were located in Europe or North America, and are discussed in terms of whether celebrity worship should be regarded as positive or negative and as a unitary concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes Martin Bashir's television documentary Living with Michael Jackson in light of U.S. national preoccupations with the fixity and, conversely, the indeterminacy of racial, sexual, and gendered subjectivities. On one hand, the authors center Bashir's film within the broader context of recent cultural moves by neoconservatives and the broader U.S. public to express a moral core regarding issues of race, gender, family, and sexuality. On the other hand, they look closely at the format, genre, and televisual character of this representation, its timing, and its ability to generate audiences and other media coverage. Specifically, the authors are interested in the ongoing fascination with Michael Jackson as an expression of unresolved social tensions in the U.S. imaginary, especially with regard to notions of indeterminate or unfixable racial and sexual bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author focuses on the push for English studies to recognize how celebrity generates one type of organizing principle of writing and the usage of alter egos as rhetorical gesture. He suggests that the issues regarding celebrity and literacy should somehow be localized into one specific type of digital-literate practice whose emphasis resides in the significance of English studies. Moreover, literacy is noted as a valuable mechanism for religious initiation and nation building.

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between celebrity worship and body image within the theoretical perspective of intense para‐social relationships with celebrities. Design. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between celebrity worship and body image. Method. Three samples, 229 (102 males and 127 females) adolescents, 183 (88 males and 95 females) full‐time university undergraduate students, and 289 (126 males and 163 females) adults were administered an amended version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale, the Attention to Body Shape Scale, and the Body Shape Questionnaire –Revised. Results. Significant relationships were found between attitudes toward celebrities and body image only among female adolescents. Multiple regression analyses suggested that Intense‐personal celebrity worship accounted for unique variance in scores in body image. Conclusions. Findings suggest that in female adolescents, there is an interaction between Intense‐personal celebrity worship and body image between the ages of 14 and 16 years, and some tentative evidence has been found to suggest that this relationship disappears at the onset of adulthood, 17 to 20 years. Results are consistent with those authors who stress the importance of the formation of para‐social relationships with media figures, and suggest that para‐social relationships with celebrities perceived as having a good body shape may lead to a poor body image in female adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates the relevance of celebrity culture well before film and the electronic media by historicizing and gendering it. The nineteenth-century French press offered its readers a lively celebrity culture, notably featuring famous women more than men. The historicized and gendered concept of celebrity provides an important tool of cultural analysis since societies inevitably project upon celebrities-and expect them to perform-reigning myths about self-fulfillment and personal uniqueness. In the case of nineteenth-century France, there was a telling evolution in the representation of women celebrities from femmes fatales to proper women whose achievements outside the home were accepted as legitimate.

Focuses on the trends in media coverage of the celebrity status in the U.S. in nineteenth and twentieth century. Image of celebrities after the development of media technologies and arts; Change in media coverage with the invention of the steam-powered cylinder press in the early 1800; Role of television in creating of image of celebrities.

Investigates the use of de-facto cigarette advertisements in feature films in the U.S. Efforts of circumventing federal regulations; Avoidance of mandated warnings on advertising; Concern over the endorsement of popular celebrities in special placements.

Rushdie's own global stardom, built on his celebration of migrancy and uprootedness as well as on the "fatwa" that marked him as a global target, informs his 1999 novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet. In this novel, Rushdie's usual focus on crossing boundaries and challenging national loyalties follows the musical stardom of his two protagonists, Vina Apsara and Ormus Cama. They not only evoke famous pop stars, like Madonna or Michael Jackson, but also the trans-historical allegiance to the most enduring myth of poetic dislocation, the myth of Orpheus. In exploring the musical star's potential to cross the impossible boundaries (even between the living and the dead), Rushdie examines the star's claim to ubiquity and radical displacement: what if the desire to be everywhere amounts to existing nowhere? My essay focuses on Rushdie's most potent image of the star's rootless existence -- the vexed relationship between groundedness and transcendence. What kind of spatiality emerges from this unresolved desire to be at one and the same time rooted and migrant, human and super-human, author and product, temporal and timeless? Because it seems impossible to close the gap that separates these conceptual binaries, I question the postcolonial reliance on the notion of "interstitiality," which aims to resolve the problem of conceptual and geographical dislocation created by such binary propositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]