Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism is a style of journalism that tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news. Such journalism is commonly associated with tabloid sized newspapers like the
National Enquirer,
Globe,
The Courier-Mail or
The Sun and the former
News of the World. Not all newspapers associated with such journalism are in tabloid size; for example, the format of
Apple Daily is broadsheet, while the style is tabloid. The terms
tabloids,
supermarket tabloids,
gutter press and
rag refer to the journalistic approach of such newspapers rather than their size. Often, tabloid newspaper allegations about the sexual practices, drug use, or private conduct of celebrities is borderline defamatory; in many cases, celebrities have successfully sued for libel, demonstrating that tabloid stories have defamed them. It is this sense of the word that led to some entertainment news programs to be called tabloid television.