READING DIARY: A response to The Economy of Celebrity by Turner 2004.

A response to The Economy of Celebrity by Turner 2004.

This chapter centres around the influence PR has on a celebrities image. Warren Buffet once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and 5 minutes to ruin it"1, this is why the role of PR in celebrity culture is so important. Famous people have a strong influence on passive audiences, therefore they are often blamed for having a negative impact, especially on children. In 2008 Hannah Bond committed suicide, shortly after My Chemical Romance made the hit 'Black Parade'. In news paper articles, journalists focused on the bands influence on the girl, "she was obsessed with the American band My Chemical Romance"2, therefore subtly passing blame onto them for her death. Whether intended or not, the band came under fire, with other articles even quoting their lyrics, ""Do or die, you'll never make me, because the world will never take my heart. Though they try, they'll never break me. We want it all, we wanna play this part."3 If it hadn't have been for the bands PR professional Jaime Rosenberg, their reputation may never have been restored.

To further research this I would look into a different icon, Kim Kardashian. All though her career began with an explicit video, she now has a reality television show, clothing endorsements, and is a household name. The only way this could have been possible is through a PR professional, "the development of the celebrity's public profile, then, is a serious business and, as we saw earlier, it is usually placed in the hands of a third party".4 I would investigate into press releases and photo opportunity's around the time of the video release and analysis the progression from then until now.

In conclusion, celebrity culture puts a lot of pressure on individuals to maintain a certain image to the public. A PR professionals job is to encourage an angle for that image to the press. In order to research further into the topic I would pick an icon whose career seemingly began where most others end, Kim Kardashian.

1 https://www.prezly.com/public-relations-quotes last accessed on 16.03.17

2 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1935735/Popular-schoolgirl-dies-in-emo-sucide-cult.html last accessed on 16.03.17

3 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1018516/Girl-13-hangs-obsessed-Emo-suicide-cult-rock-band.html last accessed on 16.03.17

4 The Economy of Celebrity by Turner 2004