ABSTRACT
The news media have long cultivated public interest in the idea and status of celebrity. Audience consumption of entertainment news programs and celebrity content increased in the years since the Great Recession, and major news networks have steadily incorporated stories of the rich, beautiful and famous while shifting focus away from those who experience poverty and marginalization. In keeping with neoliberal ideology, some of the most reputable news outlets have a section dedicated to celebrity culture, and other networks exclusively cover the details of celebrities’ lives. Parasocial relationships (PSRs) allow consumers to imagine what it might be like to live as celebrities do and to consume as people experiencing affluence do. Scholars have found that young adults report feeling inspired by famous people and that celebrity media consumption influences attitudes toward material consumption. With the rising rate of celebrity news, some fans and consumers may even feel that they know their favorite public figures on a personal level. Micro-celebrities on social media who rely on self-branding reinforce neoliberal ideology by modeling success based on self-reliance and individualism. This chapter traces the history of cultural fascination with celebrity news and explores the dynamics of consumers’ PSRs with celebrities in a precarious economy.
