We’re all journalists

“Entertainment.”

“Oh, so you mean like celebrities, Britney Spears and Hollywood stuff?”
That’s basically the gist of many conversations I’ve had throughout the past year since I began writing as a columnist here at the Indiana Daily Student. It really takes too much time for me to explain to people that when I say I cover “entertainment” stories, I don’t mean celebrities.

And thus, my problem.

So-called “entertainment” shows, magazines, blogs and Web sites have soiled entertainment journalism for the rest of us.

We here at The Pop Culture Register don’t see lo-brow media like “Access Hollywood,” “People,” “US Weekly,” Perez Hilton, etc. as entertainment journalism.
Sure, they’re great to look at for the latest and greatest in celebrity baby bump or hook-up news, but celebrities and entertainment are two different topics and should therefore be considered so.

In today’s media culture, it seems like there is no chance for the two to be disconnected again. Even worse, it seems that the lack of supposed difference between the two has made real entertainment coverage a joke in the minds of some.

We’ve all noticed that our world’s celeb infatuation has allowed it get this way.

Somehow, Britney, Paris, Lindsay or some flake from “The Hills” makes it onto the local news telecasts on a regular basis. Why WISH-TV 8 or RTV-6 needs to talk about their latest transgression is beyond me.

But that aside, the celebrity coverage isn’t going to change. Fine. What makes me cringe is when people don’t understand what the “news beat formally known as entertainment” really is and why it’s important.

Some people enjoy writing and reading stories about the entertainment industry itself, not just the leading faces out front.

Television, film and music industry news still matters about as much as it used to (maybe more with the huge proliferation of blogs and online sites dedicated to these topics), but there’s a lack of respect those within this profession seem to get.

There’s clearly an audience for this type of journalism, and it’s frustrating to be a person trying to provide those thoughts because so many look down upon it as throwaway material created by guys in their basement that only detracts us from real, hard issues like politics, business or even sports.

Obviously, the world’s economy or this historical presidential election coming down the pike is more crucial in a big-picture sense than say, the behind-the-scenes drama of “My Worst Enemy.” But that still doesn’t mean the latter story isn’t interesting to some people.

Really, it’s all a matter of opinion and taste. Some enjoy tales of political corruption, while others prefer discussing the development of a major film’s script. No matter what, we’re all still journalists.

I hope I speak for other entertainment journalists when I say we never will apologize for covering what we do. Just don’t get me confused with Perez Hilton.