Britney, Bratney: Why Do We Care?

Always fueling the interest about any superstar is the media landscape. Numbers of celebrity media outlets as well as journalists, photographers and bloggers have soared. News technology has rapidly expanded, and the revenue derived from covering celebrities has multiplied. Then there is what Portfolio Magazine called "the Britney Industrial Complex". Britney Spears appeal is fueled by media first, fans second and music last. The paparazzi alone take in $4 million annually from Britney stories because they sell about 20% of the paparazzi business.

Portfolio Magazine recently calculated the value of what it called "the Britney Industrial Complex" and found that she and her travails are worth $110 million to $120 million a year to the economy.  With 55,000,000 sites for Britney on one Yahoo! search alone, one would think she was a good role model. She is a very popular entertainer but perhaps more well known for her troubles.

Media and marketing have given  popularity to questionable people before. The roller coaster of public opinion about Britney and other young people is just that - a love/hate relationship with its ups and downs. Her popularity and appeal are a combination of media hype, good looks and reasonable talent. What also keeps people like this in the media is their poor judgement.  Some people like to judge others by their worst deeds, forgetting that part of growing up is learning from your bad decisions.  But, then again, most of us got to make those mistakes in front of a much smaller audience.  Maybe we care because it gives us a chance to feel better about ourselves, or because it reminds us of how lucky we are to have made our mistakes in a much smaller arena.