Julia Khrudova
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
Juice channels have become an integral part of gossip journalism since this year. The biggest channels have grown to accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers over the past year.
Since these channels are often faster at reporting the news than the traditional entertainment press, whether their popularity has an effect on this is debatable. When asked, several magazines and shows say they haven’t changed their ways of working because of juice channels, but the role of established media seems to be changing.
“The channels had been around longer, but they were a minor phenomenon because their news wasn’t picked up by mainstream media,” says media scientist Linda Duitsland (Utrecht University). This has happened multiple times in the last year.
That’s how the news got there Marco Borsato, little one in Glenn Grace through juice channels, such as those of Roddelpraat and Yvonne Coldeweijer. “It brought them into wider public view and increased their influence and reach.”
Other method
Online channels work differently than the traditional entertainment press. There is not always an adversarial hearing in the news about well-known Dutch people. Juice channels also require sharing of rumors or stories about certain celebrities, making it easier for people to share photos, stories or rumors.
“In the past, if you walked out of the theater and saw two celebrities walking hand in hand, you told your friends. Now people tell the juice channels,” says German. “The threshold for sending a message to these social media accounts is much lower.”
This approach leads to criticism. Being last year several lawsuits against channel managers. The conclusion was therefore that the stories needed to be rectified.
In May, BNR Nieuwsradio wanted to prove that juice channels work carelessly. That is why the news channel sent a fake video allegedly showing the use of drugs by the presenter Talitha Muusse. Coldeweijer published it. But BNR’s action has also been criticized:
The magazines and entertainment programs that the NOS spoke to seem to want to make a sharp distinction between their work and that of the juice channels, and (now) say they place great importance on source control.
“Traditional media has to reinvent itself because of a newcomer to this world. They make it clear that they have certain norms and values,” says Duitsland. “Although the mainstream media has a lot to offer even for the best gossip, and that certainly isn’t always chic.”
Their role seems to turn into one of confirmations and backgrounds. “The juice channels, often unconfirmed, carry the first message. Faster entertainment media will call it and try to confirm it. And the magazines, which appear once a week, go more into the background,” says German.
Also, weekly magazine readers are usually a little older and yet aren’t necessarily interested in news from juice channels, says Chantal Braspenning, editor-in-chief of Weekend and Party magazines. “While the channels deliver digital news quickly, with a shock effect here and there and lots of young followers, Weekend and Party are filled with background stories and interviews, with a once-a-week release.”
Older celebrity juice
The “juice” — gossip, rumours — often doesn’t fit into that group. They want to read about the ups and downs of the older generation of celebrities, Braspenning says. If celebrity rumors emerge that interest the Party and Weekend reader, they are often featured in a scheduled interview afterward.
The way traditional media works could change in the future, Duitsland thinks. Because the juice channels won’t go away and one will always remain interested juice about celebrities. “Our interest in celebrities is very big. It’s always been like this and it’s not going to change suddenly. It’s just juicy to know all about a famous Dutchman’s relationship problems. Even if he’s less known.”
