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The author believes she has found the first signs of celebrity news in the illustrated sections of two now defunct French-language Belgian dailies (Le Patriote illustré and Le Soir illustré). Though there were some indications of celebrity news in the main sections of these mid-twentieth century dailies, the slippage from information to celebrity news is most evident in their illustrated supplements. This journalistic « experiment » coincided with an era of social experiments (1950-65) and it chose the crowned heads of Europe as its main testing ground.

The strategy that consists in associating the private lives of public figures with certain commercial products originated with the Hollywood star system. The media and cultural industries have expanded this system and transformed public figures outside Hollywood into stars, that is into live and marketable images. Open competition, especially in the television industry, has introduced many varied twists and turns into the original star system.

This paper begins by presenting a five-part definition of celebrity news. It then focuses on three major issues surrounding this subject, and upon which sociology can reflect. First, the link between celebrity and individualism is examined, followed by the link between celebrity and the exposure of private life in the public sphere; and finally, an analytical matrix of celebrity news, extracted from its own definition, is outlined.

The aim here is to define the values of French celebrity weeklies and the social identities they convey. More specifically, their alleged popularity is examined with respect to their democratic impact. Is the cult of celebrity a populist ideology per se ? Does it sanction the abuses generated by the « Society of the Spectacle » ? Or, insofar as it gives rise to new political practices, could it contribute to revitalize the public sphere ?

Through a thematic content analysis of French Switzerland's main newspapers, this article suggests several ways to think about the social construction of celebrities in this part of Switzerland and their particular characteristics : What space does celebrity news occupy in these newspapers ? Who are these celebrities ? What values do they embody ? Where does the boundary lie between private and public life ?

This article begins by reminding the reader that media celebrity began with early Hollywood as a promotional strategy. The author then hypothesizes that the media representation of famous people as media celebrities was (and is) considered to be not so much journalistic truth as the result of a diverse mixture of popular stories and creative branding strategies. Media reports on celebrities are all the more enticing because of the inherent ambiguity of these stories, which are often left unchecked.

The main character rather than the plot is the central element that structures any narrative and allows all forms of identification, especially in mass cultural productions. The celebrity magazine, as a specific press genre, focuses its attention on public figures portrayed as fictional heroes. What was already an established practice in the world of entertainment now invades the political universe, as increasingly witnessed in celebrity magazines.

This paper aims to show how the events leading up to the election of a woman politician may have been structured as a soap opera by the daily press. It features an exemplary case of politics and celebrity journalism playing one upon another. It is the tension between the political agenda and the media agenda that creates and heightens the interest in the election, portrayed as a celebrity event.

The singularity of celebrity news is inseparable from photography. Photos constitute the vector through which information passes and the source of journalistic narratives. Paparazzi pictures are often regarded as blatant visual « bad taste », recycling in a derogatory fashion photography's basic role as a documentary medium. The author questions the manner in which readers have access to what can be regarded as nothing less than stolen, or conceded, moments in the private lives of celebrities. By glorifying their gilded world and highlighting their weaknesses, this iconography acts through a complex system of « coming together » or proximity.

Traditionally identified with the specialized press and show business, celebrity news has extended its journalistic reach into areas where deontology is facing new and complex challenges. This « failing » of deontology is due, notably, to the changing relations between politics and journalism and by the growing attitudes of public derision. Self-regulation within the information-gathering profession is being destabilized and is undergoing redefinition, a process in which the public and its expectations play an important role.

In an age of unlimited information technology, the image rights of each and everyone are potentially under attack. Public figures are, in this respect, prime targets. If the public's right to information through images is largely recognized, the main problems arise when seeking to balance the public's right to information with the image rights of individuals or groups. With reference to prevailing legislations, Switzerland is currently seeking to achieve this balance with the help of certain criteria.

Celebrity news in French Switzerland's daily and weekly press is a relatively recent, and growing, development. How does this « new » subject matter affect the motivations, working conditions, and deontology of journalists ? Based on ten interviews conducted in 2007, this article offers some insight into celebrity news. The main argument put forth by the interviewees to justify this growing presence is mainly economic.

Through interviews with managers and senior executives of some of France's celebrity weeklies, we first examine the structural constraints dictated to the editorial staff by both photo agencies and celebrities. Then we explore the “subjective sphere” and the “economies of worth” of gossip columnists, showing how they negotiate with their derogatory public image in order to give meaning to their professional role.