Photos by Paul C. Imburgia

As part of a weekend in which thousands of Owls returned to campus, three SCT alumni gathered to discuss how the media plays to America’s obsession with celebrities.

They should know – they’ve all made careers out of it.

Journalism Professor Andrew Mendelson led a conversation with Barry Levine, JOUR ’81, managing editor of the National Enquirer; Lisa Marsh, JOUR ’89, celebrity and fashion journalist and author; and Dyana Williams, RTF ’97, CEO and founder of Influence Entertainment.

“People You Can’t Get Enough Of: Celebrity in the 21^st Century” was presented as part of Alumni Weekend 2012.

“In some ways, celebrities aren’t people at all,” Mendelson said. “They’re media creations.”

He theorized that one of the reasons celebrity journalism is so popular is that people long to find out about the real people behind the public personas.

The discussion focused on the recent influx of “non-celebrity celebrities” – people like Kim Kardashian or the Real Housewives.

Levine said it’s getting harder to tell them apart. “You knew Elizabeth Taylor was a real celebrity. It was talent that propelled them.”

But just because someone isn’t talented, it doesn’t mean we won’t see them in the pages of the National Enquirer.
“We have to cover Snookie’s pregnancy,” Levine said. “There is a segment of the readership that wants it.”

Levine noted the impact of readership interest on coverage in a recent cover of the New York Post. As the Secret Service scandal broke in Columbia, the publication ran a cover photo of Hillary Clinton drinking a beer, with the headline “Swillary.”

Williams said many people are fascinated by celebrities because they are “a departure from the banality and the mundaneness of people’s lives.”

Marsh added the people want to connect to their lives somehow so they can say, “We could be friends. She’s just like me.”

While celebrity reporters are looking for the next good photo or story, Williams is one of the people who help to ensure celebrities are media savvy. “One of the things that I always tell my clients is do not lie. Truth comes to light.”

Her statement immediately brought the conversation to the National Enquirer’s coverage of John Edwards’ affair. For months, Edwards denied he had an affair and then that he was the father of her baby. He is currently being tried on charges that he used campaign funds to cover up his actions.

“The best thing to do is come clean,” Levine said. “Confirm the story and try to move on.”

Williams’ pointed to David Letterman’s handling of his sex scandal as a model of how a celebrity should handle that kind of situation. By immediately coming clean and apologized, he “neutralized and diminished” the story.

Alumni Weekend 2012 included more than 45 events on campus and throughout Philadelphia, headlined by the John Legend concert at Liacouras Center.

When news breaks in L.A., viewers learn about it from Sandra Mitchell, JOUR '85. (photo by George Miller)

During her return to North Broad Street April 17, Sandra Mitchell, JOUR ’85, recounted her journey to Los Angeles and the anchor desk at KCAL 9.

“It’s not been a quick one, but, boy, has it been a fun and exciting one,” said the featured speaker at the annual Dorothy I. Kirsch Lecture in Shusterman Hall.

A native of Lancaster, Pa., Mitchell always had her eyes set on Los Angeles. But she needed the experience and the knowledge that comes from working in the field in order to get there. Her professional broadcasting journey started at a small cable station in New Jersey, where she acted as producer, reporter, writer and anchor, and led her through Huntsville, Ala.; New Orleans; and St. Louis. Along the way, she covered government corruption, had a gun pointed at her in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and took cover in a roadside ditch as a deadly tornado passed overhead.

Mitchell and her husband decided in 1999 to follow their ultimate dream and moved to Los Angeles without the prospect of steady work. “I didn’t want to be comfortable,” she said. “I didn’t want to settle.”

She freelanced for months before a staff position at KCAL 9 became available, a job she won over a fellow freelancer. But Mitchell said not to feel bad about the man who lost the job – Ryan Seacrest is doing quite well for himself as the host of American Idol.

Mitchell called on Temple’s young journalists to help buck the trend in which Snookie and Lindsay Lohan are getting the headlines, a result, she said, of the monopolization of the industry. “Find the real stories in your communities.”

Still, she said Los Angeles has lived up to her dreams and has kept her quite busy. She anchors three of KCAL’s 14 daily newscasts and reports and anchors for its sister station, CBS 2. Mitchell said her city always produces enough material to fill each broadcast.

“When there’s no breaking news, it’s almost like something’s wrong.”

The annual lecture is named after Dorothy Italie Kirsch, JOUR ’36. She and her husband created the lecture series in 1993 because, “hearing the insight and perspectives of leading communication specialists offers a unique chance for students to see the breadth of opportunity that awaits them.”