Newsweek (and Daily Beast) editor Tina Brown announced Oct. 18, 2012 that the long-time news weekly (is that redundant?) would put out its last paper edition on Dec. 31, 2012.
After that date, it will be named Newsweek Global and be a digital only subscription publication for tablets and the web.
Exiting print is an extremely difficult moment for all of us who love the romance of print and the unique weekly camaraderie of those hectic hours before the close on Friday night. But as we head for the 80th anniversary of Newsweek next year we must sustain the journalism that gives the magazine its purpose—and embrace the all-digital future.
This announcement is at odds with one made by Brown in September when she told employees that reports that Newsweek were going all-digital was “Scaremongering,”
According to Folio, which covers the magazine industry, Newsweek had been losing print readers even while the Daily Beast (which contains Newsweek content) was gaining readers and had growing revenue.
Newsweek’s print edition had been on a death watch for sometime, with a number of over-the-top covers, some of which were on stock photos.
In the 1950s and 1960s, networks and advertisers imposed strict controls on what could be shown on television. For example, Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke played the married couple Laura and Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired from 1961 to 1966. Although married, the Petries had to sleep in separate twin beds. Sponsors also raised their eyebrows when Moore wore jeans and capri pants on the show because these garments might be considered suggestive. Moore fought the sponsors and won, saying, “I’ll dress on the show the way I dress in real life.”
Here’s a great clip of Moore dancing as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s:
There is no telling what plans manager Scooter Braun has for Psy, and if he will expand his crossover star status to a full-fledged worldwide media icon – or if he will fall victim to the same flash-in-the-pan status as Los del Rio and The Macarena () or Major Tom and Nena and 99 Luft Baloons. However, what we can say about the impact of Psy and Gangam Style is that it has, at least, for the moment, broken a number of records, boundaries, and expectations for what media experts have traditionally considered to be popular music, including:
1. YouTube Rules, MTV Drools
It’s not a surprise to anyone who is considered a Digital Native, but YouTube is head-and-shoulders the music video hub of the world; this, despite the fact that YouTube hasn’t even been around a full decade.
The role of YouTube today is reminiscent of MTV in the 1980s – that’s Music Television by the way – when it literally launched a revolution by dedicating an entire cable channel to playing music videos.
Even though MTV still exists, along with supposedly music-driven channels like VH1, BET, and CMT, it is YouTube that is king. Not only did YouTube launch Justin Bieber’s career and give Korea its first crossover hit in the United States, but also it is one of the few places that you can find music videos anymore and talk about them with your friends.
2. I’ve Got 99 Problems But Geography Ain’t One
By this point, anyone who has been on the Internet has encountered a meme or flash-in-the-pan star (Rebecca Black anyone?) but one of the things that makes the Gangam Style video so unique is that, up until Gangam Style, Korea had never really broken into the U.S. market in the same way that Hispanic artists (Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Selena, etc…), British artists (Adele, Coldplay, Muse, etc…), or even German (Rammstein), Russia (t.A.T.u), and Japanese artists (Dir en Grey) have. However, the fact that the song is in Korean hasn’t impacted its popularity; if anything, it has accelerated it.
What is interesting to note, however, is that KPop actually has a huge Internet following and the only thing that really helped Psy break into more traditional media and news outlets was the speed with which his video became popular. It was only within the last month or so that “Gangam Style” even became available for download on iTunes or began appearing on radio stations, by which time the popularity of the video had already reached its peak.
And, lest I forget – it is important to mention that Psy’s YouTube predecessor, Justin Beiber, is also an imported star that originally lived in Canada before moving to the U.S. after signing a recording contract.
3. PSY Does NOT stand for Pretty, Sexy, or Young
What is also unique about Psy, is that even for Korean standards, he doesn’t fit the traditional mold for a pop star. Psy is a man that is slightly overweight, balding, and in his mid-30s, which is far removed from his video co-star, HYUNA (), who is much more like America’s version of Britney Spears.
Now, this isn’t to say that America hasn’t had its share of non-traditional pop stars like the bands OK Go and Green Day, as well as singles artists like Lou Bega and Cee-Lo Green, but usually if there are additional barriers to entry like a foreign language or cultural references, it helps to have a Westernized appearance of beauty.
4. Stardom Trumps Satire
In a media environment where those in power hate to be criticized, unless they have the power to shut that criticism down like the jesters in the king’s court, controversy is a fine line that people have to walk. Some, like Lady Gaga, court controversy not by what they say, but what they wear. Others, like Lisa Lampanelli, make controversy comfortable within the context of a comedy routine. However, popular music has only rarely courted controversy with punk and pop-punk bands being the main exception. Even when bubble gum pop stars to delve into the realm of controversy, their songs are pacified, like Cee-Lo Green did with Forget You ( NSWF Language), or, like Green Day, are eventually rejected by some listeners who don’t want to involve politics with their music.
With Psy, his critique of Korea and the Gangam lifestyle is particularly biting according to some analyses and creative speech in countries like Korea and Japan, despite their advances over the last century, is not as celebrated as it is in America. In fact, due its content, Psy’s second album was banned from being sold to anyone under age 19 and his legacy became that of a controversial artist. Now that Psy is at the top of the charts internationally, it will almost certainly trump any criticisms from those in Korea about the song’s content. One has to wonder, however, if the same would could be said if Psy’s song was only moderately popular, like his other works.
In my opinion, all four of these concepts point to a shifting media environment that helped Psy and Gangam Style become as popular as it has. Even 30 years ago when MTV first launched, there was very little chance that a foreign singer, who sang in their own native language, would ever make it big enough to become top-selling artist in the United States – though it did happen – not because people didn’t necessarily want it, but because in order to hear it people would have had to watch MTV or listen to the radio, all of which was and is filtered through countless managers, editors, marketing representatives, and number crunchers looking for a return on their investment. Today, the level of investment is minimal and the benefits are huge, but the competition is stiffer and the public’s taste is more fickle than ever. Similarly, audiences are more accustom to profanity, sexual content and political criticism in pop songs, and despite what can or can’t be shown on television or played on the radio, artists like Psy, or, more notably, Amanda F**king Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, can still make an impact in the music industry.
So, to answer the question – What is Gangam Style? Well, for some it is a social critique, for others it’s a silly pop song, but for me, Gangam Style as a piece of online media is an example of just how significantly the entertainment landscape has changed and, given the rapidness with which the video reached its popularity, how quickly additional changes could appear and reshape what we think we know about media. That said, many of the “revelations” I have pointed to validate the seven truths of media that Ralph often points to. So, in closing, the ultimate question, perhaps, isn’t “What is Gangam Style?” but instead, “Why Not Gangam Style?”
Today’s guest post is from Charley Reed, who does public relations work of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He’s also the guy I turn to when I need critical analysis of pop culture issues such as censorship and the show South Park or the status of video games as mass media. This entry is part one of a look at the global phenomenon (even galactic at times) Gangnam Style!
By now you have probably seen the music video called “Gangam Style,” or seen the crazy hopping-horse dance performed at weddings, sporting events, or even on shows like Saturday Night Live and Ellen. If you are like many people I talk to – you’re already tired of it and just want it to end so we can move on to then next fad.
I, on the other hand, am not tired of Gangam Style at all; in fact, I think it still has a wealth of entertainment value and a lot to tell us about the state of media today.
First, a little background if you haven’t seen the video – although you really should. (No excuses – It’s posted right here!)
The original Psy Gangnam Style video
The video, and song, are performed by Korean singer Psy, which is short for psycho (not surprising at all really). While he may be a one-hit wonder (so far) in the United States, “Gangam Style” is not some flash in the pan song. In fact, the song is on the album Psy 6, which – not surprisingly – is the 35-year-old singer’s sixth album.
In addition to the massively popular “Gangam Style,” Psy produced a popular “cheer song” for Korea’s Olympic teams, has worked with some of the biggest names in Korean Pop (KPop) and is well known in Korea for the satirical content in his songs, including Gangam Style.
The name of the song, specifically, refers to the “Beverly Hills” of South Korea – the Gangnam District. In his song and video, Psy parodies the Gangam lifestyle by looking suave but acting silly. While the silliness is what most Westerners pick up on, the context is actually pretty biting. As Jae Kim points out on her blog:
“In Korea, there’s a joke poking fun at women who eat 2,000-won (about $2) ramen for lunch and then spend 6,000 won on Starbucks coffee.” They’re called Doenjangnyeo, or “soybean paste women” for their propensity to crimp on essentials so they can over-spend on conspicuous luxuries, of which coffee is, believe it or not, one of the most common. “The number of coffee shops has gone up tremendously, particularly in Gangnam,” Hong said. “Coffee shops have become the place where people go to be seen and spend ridiculous amounts of money.”
Finally, even though you may have heard of Gangam Style on TV, or seen it at a baseball game, the song first blew up on the Korean billboard charts in mid July, but really garnered attention when it hit a million views in less than a week and, at one point, was averaging 9 million views per day. As of this writing, the view-count for Gangam Style on YouTube is at 302 million, and while there are other videos with higher numbers (Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” has 487 million, for example) Psy’s video became the most “liked” YouTube video in history with 2.9 million likes and counting.
During the day, Fox News has been known to show live car chases for as long as an hour at a time. The coverage typically is fed to the cable news giant by an affiliate’s news or traffic helecopter.
Today, that strategy went badly wrong. Fox was airing a car jacking in Phoenix, Ariz., that had lasted at least an hour. It ended when the car jacker pulled over by the side of the road and committed suicide.
As the story was airing, Fox news anchor Shep Smith was commenting on the events as they occurred, and once the man left the car Fox went to a 5-second delay on their broadcast. But somehow, the editors missed cutting away before airing the shooting on live TV. And as it happened, Shep Smith (in my opinion, one of the classier hosts/anchors on cable news), screamed “Get off it! Get off it!”
Shep Smith Apology (Does not show suicide)
Ater inadvertently sharing the shooting, Fox went to a commercial. Upon returning, Smith apologized to viewers in no uncertain terms for airing the shooting.
But here’s the problem: Why was the network showing the car chase in the first place? It wasn’t as though the car chase had any news value outside of the Phoenix, Ariz. area. But they do have viewer appeal, and Smith has admitted that he likes showing and viewing car chases for many years.
The Web site BuzzFeed has taken heat for posting both an edited and unedited version of the chase. The argument is that the suicide should not be shown. It should be noted, however, the BuzzFeed does warn you that they are showing the shooting, a warning you didn’t get when this aired live on Fox. Gawker also posted video of the shooting along with a discussion of why they did so.
After you view these ads, think about what makes them work? What kind of message do they each send? (One thing I like is that they are all very different. One congressional race ad humorous while another is deadly serious. I have to say that while I think both presidential ads The Fix highlights are good, neither live up to the standards of my two favorites from McCain and Obama from the 2008 election.
Newsweek (and Daily Beast) editor Tina Brown announced Oct. 18, 2012 that the long-time news weekly (is that redundant?) would put out its last paper edition on Dec. 31, 2012.