Lindsay Lohan and Jail: A Seemingly Pointless Story….and Love Affair

I chose to compare articles from The New York Times, BBC, USAToday, New York Post, and Fox News to understand how different sources create different stories from the same happening by analyzing the general focus of the article and how they value or disvalue the subject matter itself. The events leading up to the jailing of the 24-year-old star Lindsay Lohan have been covered by a phenomenal amount of press. It seems like no one would care about the woes of her life, but statistical information given by network ratings and the amount of information that popped up when I googled “Lindsay Lohan Jail” prove otherwise.

In terms of slant, each paper is obviously catering to a different market. For example, The New York Times article written by David Itzkoff gives strictly the facts of what happened on the day that she surrendered to begin her sentence, followed by a quick blurb about how the reader may know her by explaining that she was in several movies; a NY Times reader may be concerned with matters other than Lindsay Lohan. USAToday, on the other hand, focuses on the statistics of Lohan’s media coverage rather than the event itself. Writer David McNew reports that “nearly 2.3 million people tuned in to TMZ.com's live Los Angeles Superior Court stream of Lindsay Lohan's probation hearing…” He then highlights how phenomenal this is by explaining that the other 2 best days on the TMZ website were Michael Jackson’s death and Lohan’s original hearing on May 24. Perhaps the USAToday audience is interested in numbers rather than gossip itself.

The BBC uses Lohan’s media coverage to talk about the special treatment of celebs and almost completely ignores the fact that the article is about Lohan in the first place. David Willis gives us a short history of how Hollywood used to be a place where “stars were venerated and their indiscretions overlooked.” In fact, stars like Errol Flynn became more popular than before, even after heinous crimes like rape. In short, the BBC has taken this opportunity to provide a historical standpoint by using Lohan as a gateway to other topics rather than focusing on her.

Many New Yorkers turn to the free morning edition of what I call “news pornography,” or The NY Post (yellow journalism). Generally, this paper reports news that some New Yorker’s are concerned about, such as local news, sports, daily gossip, and the like. Kelly Hartog reports that Lindsay Lohan was “scared” and got her sentence reduced (I interpret this as her ability to act has gotten her nearly off the hook once again), then rolls into a slew of dramatic details about the whole ordeal. Readers of The New York Post may be interested in such dramatic events, or they are just grabbing the paper on the fly because it’s free and sensational (makes them laugh, feel entertained). Finally, Fox News covered Lohan’s story from its typical right-wing standpoint. First of all, the article appears to be written anonymously (I couldn’t find a name anywhere on the page). Next, it focuses on her fakeness: “Lindsay Lohan burst into tears after prison wardens ripped out her hair extensions and forced her to remove her false eyelashes when the star began her jail sentence in Los Angeles…” Then, we are informed that she received collagen injections and will be able to take prescription drugs while in jail. By taking this standpoint, I feel as though the writer has attempted to alienate her from the “real people” who tune into Fox News and have completely written her off as a fake and immoral human being. The other articles make no mention of her enhancements. All in all, Fox News caters to a different demographic than the previous 4 sources.

After reading about the same news from five sources, I feel as though each source has given a completely different viewpoint on the event. The publicity model, which states that media attention itself makes the topic important, seems to be accurate in this situation because Lindsay Lohan going to jail has almost no affect on many people’s personal life whatsoever, so why pay attention to the story? Perhaps Lohan received so much media coverage because many of the reporters that covered the story are interested in the events in the life of a white, wealthy girl (or in Fox News’s case, beating up on her for being “fake”). This little investigation has prompted me to be more media literate as well as wary of the information I consume.

Works Cited:

Hartog, Kelly, and David K. Li. "'Scared' Lindsay Lohan begins jail sentence; will serve just 14 days Will only serve 14 days: report ." New York Post (2010): n. pag. Web. 25 Jul 2010. .

McNew, David. "Lindsay Lohan hearing draws 2.3 million viewers." USAToday (2010). Web. 25 Jul 2010. .

Unknown. "Fox news: Lindsay Lohan Breaks Down After Wardens Rip Out Hair Extensions, Eyelashes: Report." Fox News (2010). Web. 25 Jul 2010. .

Itzkoff, David. "Lindsay Lohan Starts Her Jail Sentence." New York Times (2010). Web. 25 Jul 2010. .

Willis, David. "Lindsay Lohan feeds 'insatiable' media demand." BBC News, Los Angeles (2010). Web. 25 Jul 2010. .