Speaking of juice, no review of celebrity sites would be complete without a mention of the hugely popular PerezHilton.com (aka, the 28 year-old Miami native Mario Lavandeira). While much has been made of this site and the man behind it, on the occasions that I have been redirected to him, I always leave feeling let down and violated by all his self-serving preening. All the self-adulation and bragging about how popular his site is, not to mention the over-the-top gayness (gay is fine, but can we dial it down a notch?) takes away from the focus of his site: celebrities.
According to Mario/Perez, his constant back patting is part of his strategy, "I think people hate seeing my picture on my website, but it's a brand-building thing. The more I put my picture up there, the more people recognize me, the more they're familiar with me, and the more it opens the doors for me to do bigger things. I'll worry when I see my traffic dip, but my traffic has been exploding."
I seriously doubt he will learn. While Lavandeira is no dummy, he has absolutely fallen victim to the oldest tale in the celebrity book: believing his own press. You are not the star, you cover the stars. A good journalist knows how to stay out of the way and the let the story tell itself.
Essentially, good tabloids don't just provide sensationalized headlines and bitter diatribe. They offer facts that lead you to your own conjectures, they bring insight into why you should feel the way you do about any given subject matter, and, most all, they provide the key elements to whether any celebrity is beyond redemption, worthy of adulation, and ultimately emulation. They are the last vestiges of what is and is not socially acceptable behavior for the rest of us.
Oh, and sometimes the pictures are funny.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
really great job on this Dawn - informative and fun t oread
2 - Dawn
Aww, gee that's nice of you to say :)
3 - LVCW
Ack! Just what I need: more websites to take up my time. Why does making fun of celebrities have to be so much dang fun?
4 - gossipmogul
Great reporting. Im a newbee but on the inside. please check out my new site Celebritypuke.com
thanks and great job!
5 - poponthepop.com
Thank you for this! Fierce! As a new blogger for the past few months, it was refreshing for me to read this list.
You really did this list justice! I'm happy that certain unworthy blogs remained unlisted, and worthy blogs such as DListed were mentioned.
LUV it! Your writing is exceptional too. =)
6 - Dawn
Glad to be of service, much thanks guys - and I always check out new sites, so I will give that one a look.
7 - Eric Olsen
very glad to see Dawn's efforts appreciated here - I think she did a super job
8 - Mark Saleski
...worse mistakes than we mere mortals do.
it's true. i never, ever get out of my car in a dress without my underwear on.
at least not that i can remember.
9 - El Bicho
Now I know why so many people wanted Mark to come to Vegas.
10 - Dawn
That, and his penchant for the "dirty sanchez."
11 - Mark Saleski
yeesh! so much for good, clean fun.
12 - Snarkattack
I noticed the MySpace BC Glosslip page is looking a little spartan - surely this should be added? It's a great gossip reference piece.
13 - Mr. Gossip
Nice list, but my site is missing :(