Abstract
AbstractThis chapter provides an in-depth look at the economics of entertainment journalism and how coverage of political controversy in pop culture aligns with the broader profit-making strategies of digital media companies and demands for online clicks and social media shares. Through interviews, the chapter explores how journalists at the nexus of pop culture and politics adopt strategies to negotiate the pressures of “clickbait” commercialism—such as pegging long-developing works of social and political criticism to the biggest blockbuster entertainment events of the day—as well as how they address critiques about its quality and sincerity and accusations of cynical pandering to polarized audiences. The discussion interrogates the seeming contradiction of the news industry’s embrace of pop culture controversy to serve bottom-line needs and its simultaneous devaluing of professional roles and expertise in entertainment journalism which threatens to hold the field back from fulfilling its important public mission.
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