Tabloid Magazine Comparison

Magazines are produced everyday and every night. It is bought all around the US in almost any convenient store. There are your sports magazines, gossip magazines, celebrity, the average person, breaking stories, comedy magazines, and mainly anything that has to do with people.

It basically grabs your attention for the most part. Anything “juicy” or “shocking” that can be a hit article. The stories they have in magazines have to be exciting and it has to grab attention from readers. The publisher has to know what readers want to see or hear, even if it means doing dirty work. For example, a publisher has a picture of a man and women and makes it look much more than the real picture; when really, the man was just giving directions to the women. It’s whatever sells and to who’s buying. In this case, people.

Some major tabloid magazines include Drudge Report, Star Magazine, Weekly World News, Planet Sun, Teen Magazine, and much more. Some are full of informative articles while others are about gossip or opinions. Two of the more famous celebrity magazines are Us Weekly and People Magazine. They are both similar and different. US weekly is a celebrity gossip magazine as in, People Magazine is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human interest stories.

The Us Weekly is pretty much a pure celebrity gossip magazine. It’s based on the lives of celebrities and their everyday activity. They are followed by paparazzi publically, and also secretly. It’s not always a good thing, but in some cases it can. People Magazine is what they consider a half and half (50/50) magazine, one where they have human-interest stories as well as celebrity stories. They can have a death of a person from a social network and can also have something about Lindsay Lohan.

People Magazine’s first issue was released in 1974. Three years sooner to that Us Weekly released theirs in 1977. The Company behind People Magazine is Time Inc. (Time Warner). The Editor is Larry Hackett, who leads the editorial team based in New York City . Us Weekly’s Editor in Chief is Michael Steele and its company is Wenner Media LLC.

Both Magazines have story articles on celebrities. About who did who and who did what. Both host beauty stories as well as photographs and gossip. That’s one of the main headlines in both magazines, and that is the celebrity section. What people don’t know and what they can tell us. While People Magazine tries to combine a mixture of content, Us Weekly has more of a gossip focus.

Us Weekly gossip on celebrities and their breaking news activity, ie: Emma Stone, Movie Celeb, Officiates a wedding, Simon Cowell, X Factor Judge, wants a pet penguin. However, People Magazine once paid $75,000 for photos of Jennifer Lopez, like so raising the photos bar. This proved to be a challenge for Us Weekly when it comes to photos, making it very expensive and competitive; however the move was very smart and strategic to People Magazine’s credit.

Us Weekly has more celebrity gossip content and beauty articles, where as People Magazine has a celebrity gossip section, beauty section, and human-interest pieces. People Magazine may have launched their magazine three years earlier then Us Weekly, but that hasn’t stopped Us Weekly from attempting to be number one. In my opinion, People Magazine is easily the bigger company. Its sells more, it’s popular amongst others, and has more entertainment. Comparing websites, both companies have made sites so readers can get online, for us to check out the top stories or the top pictures and also the latest news.

Even here People Magazine drew over 39 million views in February 2007. In February 2010, USmagazine.com had over 140,000 back links. Us Weekly site has a breaking news blog, red carpet galleries, videos, quizzes and pools. People website focuses exclusively on celebrity news. People Magazine is best known for their special issues, “Most Beautiful People”, “The Best Dressed”, and “The Sexiest Man Alive”.

They both have their significant features in their product and they both sell. It really depends on the person, how they are feeling, what they want to know, etc. People are for those who want to see celebrities. Those who appreciate celebrities, to see the hottest stars walk the red carpet, who’s with whom. Us Weekly are for people who want the truth. Us Weekly will dish celebrity gossip but will also put a stop to rumors that can destroy the lives of our favorite celebrities. It can bring out the truth about the hottest celebs whether it’s flattering or not.

People Magazine and Us Weekly devote pages to fashion and beauty news. For readers who want fashion advice they can afford, Us Weekly can provide. The “US Style” and “US Beauty” section gives a stylish look at prices we want to see. I think readers subscribe to People magazine because they love all aspects of entertainment. People Magazine offers substantial coverage on TV, books and music section for readers who want to know more than who is dating whom.

Both of these magazines take an ethical approach to celebrity news reporting. You will rarely find unsolicited photographs of stars trying to enjoy a day at the park with their family. Both of these magazines do their best to paint positive pictures of celebrities more often than they invade stars personal lives and sell rumors. In other words, both People Magazine and Us Weekly magazine sell the news.

Specific examples of Us Weekly’s focus on celebrity gossip are found plastered all over the websites front page. Upon inspection, one of the first things that a person can notice is the title “Biggest Celebrity Cheating Scandals of 2012”. As the title of the article hints, the readings contain nothing but intrusions into celebrity personal life and what the tabloids think they know.

This online article mentions many of this years well known scandals. It goes from the Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson break up, to Heidi Klum cheating on Seal, to other scandals involving musicians, athletes, and TV stars. The magazine also features quotations from related celebrities saying things like “This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry.”- Kristen Stewart. These quotes are meant to give the reader a more personal experience and keep them interested.

Other examples of Us Weekly beauty interest articles can be found in either section labeled “style” or “beauty”; these sections are also highlighted in the paperback magazine as well. The topics of these sections cover a broad spectrum, but they usually revolve around fashion, fitness, hair, make-up, and other ways of looking good. The sections are filled with articles about celebrities and how they relate to any of those topics. Some of the headlines say things like “See Stars Without Makeup”, “Emma Stone’s Hair Revolution”, and “Stars’ Red Carpet Skin Secrets”. All of these topics revolve around looking aesthetically pleasing, which is the main purpose of Us Weekly.

People magazine revolves less on celebrity gossip, and more on other things. These things include many aspects like actual celebrity news, lifestyle information, updates on newborns, and more. Some title’s include “Frankie Muniz Recovering from a Mini Stroke”, “Anderson Cooper Goes Blind Temporarily”, and even news about the royal family like “Kate Feeling Better After Will’s Hospital Visit”. “Prince William returned to the hospital to visit pregnant wife Kate as she spends her second day being treated for hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe type of morning sickness.” This is an excerpt from the article regarding the royal Prince and Princess.

Overall, there are some basic differences between Us Weekly and People Magazine. Us Weekly is a tabloid that focuses mainly on celebrity gossip, exploiting their lives for entertainment. Its articles were usually things that the reader would find edgy or interesting. However, People Magazine, although sharing some of the superficial information as Us Weekly, focuses more on the daily living of the celebrities.