Mark Pasetsky's Cover Awards

No, in fact the tactics used for covering celebrities will spread to other topics.  Did you hear that Barack Obama?

The Atlantic Monthly, which featured (as you know by now) Britney Spears on its latest cover, hosted a panel featuring paparazzi and gossip gurus last night to discuss the state of celebrity news.

“We’re trying to get the shots before they go into rehab,” said Brandy Navarre, who runs the powerful paparazzi agency X17, according to AdAge.   

“What’s more, they believe they’re the model for future news coverage on all kinds of subjects. “It’s already happening,” Mr. Navarre said. “We tried to get Obama in the Virgin Islands with no shirt.”

BREAKING NEWS:  “Jay Lauf is jumping from Conde Nast’s Wired to The Atlantic, according to Mediaweek.  “The opportunity was really exciting for me personally, Lauf said.  “It’s (The Atlantic) an iconic, venerable title that has been undersold and marketed.” (Mediaweek)

Why did the Atlantic suddenly feature Britney Spears, the poster child for the celebrity weeklies, on is cover? 

James Bennet, editor of the Atlantic tells AdAge, “We are focusing The Atlantic really on what it does best, I think — which is bringing its intelligence to bear on really important subjects, the most significant subjects in politics, business and the broader culture — and making provocative arguments.”

Well, it’s about time The Atlantic woke up and put Britney on its cover.   She is one of the most covered celebrities of all time. 

Plus, the magazine is covering Britney in a way that the celebriy weeklies could not cover her.  It focuses on the “days and nights with the new paparazzi.”  Since the celeb weeklies depend on these pictures, they would never create a compelling cover story like this one.  It would be hypocritical.

I’m looking forward to reading this article from the Atlantic.  I believe that many of the celebrity weeklies dumb down their articles to such a degree that they assume the American public can not digest intellectual discussions on their favorite celebrities.   Rather, the celebrity weeklies deliver the same, monotonous stories accompanied by photo collages that repeat what’s in the text  (In case you don’t know how to read).

Click here for Nat Ives’ complete report on why The Atlantic got on the Britney Wagon.  Hint: It’s about the newsstand. 

Which one would you buy? 

I think The Atlantic is giving In Touch a run for its money!   Who’s going to become a tabloid next?  The Economist?  The New Yorker?   It’s anyone’s guess!

MediaPost confirms that The Atlantic has launched The Current, a new digital publication (thecurrent.theatlantic.com).  It will feature several essays on newsworth topics with commentary.