January 06, 2004

Pete & Britney...

...sittin' in a tree, P-U-B-L-I-C-I-Z-I-N-G.

It was difficult to escape the news the last couple days that Britney Spears got married, then un-married. Starting today, it will be hard to escape Pete Rose's admission to betting on baseball.

So why are we hearing about these things? Publicity, pure and simple. As a pop star, Britney needs to stay in the news, and with no concert dates set for a while, the quickie marriage was a good way to do it. Pete has a new tell-all book out and only one year of Hall of Fame eligibility left, so coming clean about betting on baseball (he still swears he didn't bet on his own team's games) will not only boost book sales but also might get him the forgiveness he needs for induction.

As much as some celebrities moan about the constant barrage of media attention and intrusion into their lives, it's a pretty disingenuous complaint. The celebrity-watch is essential to their careers: it's what keeps them from fading away in between projects, what makes them regular water cooler conversation. It's a function of branding, just like the product placements in all your favorite TV shows and movies. Pay it no mind.

Posted by Andrew Huff at January 6, 2004 01:48 PM
Comments

P-U-B-L-I-Z-I-N-G?

Did you mean P-U-B-L-I-C-I-Z-I-N-G?

Posted by: bran at January 6, 2004 06:49 PM

Uhh...no, publizing. It's, uh, gangsta slang.
(fixed it)
You're right, I got ahead of myself. Spelling with dashes is hard. :)

Posted by: Andrew at January 6, 2004 08:22 PM

oddly enough, switching from 'kissing' to 'publicizing' does not break the meter of the line, poetically speaking.

britney spears got married? a sure sign that i do not read enough news.

Posted by: unmute at January 7, 2004 03:41 PM

I find it increasingly frustrating that celebrity gossip has taken over the news. Did editors lose their backbones somewhere down the road?

Ratings and sales are one thing, but it is hard to find publications or news sites that haven't been affected by this trend.

Posted by: Peter at January 7, 2004 04:09 PM

I honestly don't know, Peter. At one time, I would have told you it was a sign that we'd entered the "bread and circuses" era of the American Empire, but now I just don't bother. After all, it's a global phenomenon.

Posted by: Andrew at January 7, 2004 04:20 PM