Tabloid Journalism: The Dumbing Down Of News Culture

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Furthermore, it can be shown that the avoidance, or better yet divergence, of tabloid journalism from the ‘seriousness’ of news is an employed strategy to further broaden the appearance of media itself and to foster inclusion. The Daily Sun newspaper was launched in 2002. The publisher had stated that its goal was to present to audiences an alternative news model to the usual “boring, serious, expensive, elitist, formal, and difficult-to-read” newspapers in South Africa (Du Plessis, 2005). It was established with the aim of broadening the scope of the demographics of audiences that are meant to have access to news and information- news and information that is relevant to and affects their daily lives. It was intended to reach its target audience- …show more content…

Over the years South Africa has experienced a rise in tabloid journalism, and it has remained to be among the most top selling in the newspaper industry. However, concerns are raised. As previously mentioned, the concept of ‘dumbing down’ refers to the view that tabloid journalism ‘dumbs down’ news culture through the lowering of standards and offers low quality public discourse, and engages in tasteless and inferior information. Concerning the tabloid cultures organisation of taste and its ‘dumbing down’ of journalistic culture, it is important to note however that there are serval dimensions of alternative media content with the standard aim to offend and challenge middle-class standards of taste as a progressive and discursive strategy, and not as a result of ‘dumbing down’ media culture. Looking at it from this view, analysing tabloid journalism takes us away from the class and taste critique; even more so, we see that the concept of ‘dumbing down’ is simply beside the point. Furthermore, we see that the shift in media culture, and more specifically the features of tabloid journalism is meaningfully inclusive, suggesting from their use of non-elite individuals, issues and values. When tabloid journalism is continuously and openly condemned as a warning of ‘dumbing down’ news culture and established as low quality and inferior standards, those members of society who consume such kind of media sources are associated with those features and placed on a lower level of the social hierarchy. This is especially dangerous in a newly developed democracy and also considering the inequality invested in the South African democracy. Tabloid journalism offers an inclusive approach to media as it disregards all elements of exclusivity which are perpetuated in dominant mainstream media. The possibility that this may foster an element of democratic participation and inclusivity

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