Charles Durning Carroll

Why We Need the Tabloids – NYTimes.com.

The tabloids may test the limits of the ethically or legally acceptable, but they are often doing so in the service of a popular desire to see behind the facade of public life. They rely on the appeal (a very human one) of seeing elements of our societies that are often shamefully hidden away from view.The tabloids are the newspapers most dutifully dedicated to ideas of exposure, and are willing to take risks in the service of that goal. It may be the case that much of what they expose is perhaps of little social import, but this is more a matter of taste, and the tabloids certainly never claimed to be tasteful.  Certainly the fact that the American tabloids first broke important news stories, like the extramarital affair ofJohn Edwards, the former United States senator and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, suggests that they are not merely peddling insignificant gossip.Watching the painfully choreographed, and highly policed, red-carpet arrival of Prince William and Kate Middleton at a recentLos Angeles polo matchreminded me why intrusive journalistic tactics are often called upon. They exist to break down the barriers of access that keep social elites at a remove from ordinary people. The tabloids, throughout history, on both sides of the Atlantic, have been predicated on chipping away at that division. They play a fundamental role in democratic cultures, especially in societies characterized by the pull between the demands of a mass society and the persistence of social and economic inequality.

Agreed. The problem lies not in the nature of the tabloids themselves but in the corresponding failure of the broadsheet media (e.g. The London Times) to hold business to the same standard the tabloids hold individuals. Finding out about John Edwards’ extramarital affairs is good for democracy, but so too is bringing down Murdoch/News International for failing to investigate the wrongdoings of large businesses such as News International itself. What this scandal really reveals is the way in which economics and the power of business impedes democracy.