Even if you don’t follow gossip sites, it was almost impossible this year to ignore the scandals, missteps, and legal woes of celebrities.
Gossip has been a part of the media landscape almost since the advent of newspapers, gaining popularity throughout the 20th century and expanding across new media platforms.
But this year, stories that might have once been relegated to sites like TMZ or Gawker became part of the mainstream news feed.
NPR’s Andrew Limbong speaks with media critic Eric Deggans, and Constance Grady of VOX, on the thin line between news and gossip.