Rumor has it: Epistemology of celebrity journalism in the flemish digital media ecology

Abstract

Taking the case of Belgian (Flemish) celebrity news, we discuss the impact of digitization of the news media ecology on the epistemology of celebrity journalism. Theoretically, the epistemology of celebrity journalism is considered as a set of practices, through which knowledge is acquired, claimed and justified, that are shaped by the specifics of the media ecology and the celebrity culture and industry. Empirically, we analyze media celebrity coverage in two celebrity magazines and one website, owned by DPG Media and sharing a converged newsroom. Quantitative content analysis and expert interviews reveal that, while digitization somewhat affects the ways in which journalists acquire, claim and justify their knowledge, celebrity news epistemology is mostly affected by the distinction between local and global celebrities, mostly through direct versus indirect access.