Rico72, 4/12

In class we discussed how the media tends to put a lot of focus on certain anchors or hosts. They are constantly searching for someone who can captivate the audience and make them really want to watch the news. When we looked at Anderson Coopers page I was amazed by how much was on his page. The funny part was that he did not seem to really be involved with it. As we scrolled down the list of blog posts, I do not remember seeing one that was actually posted by him. I wondered to myself, "why is all this information here? What is it's purpose?" The best answer I could come up with was trust. By having his own personal "blog" where you can see what AC is thinking when he is not on the show. It gives you a more personal attachment in a way. You can even become his facebook friend (although I doubt he goes on facebook chat between interviews). While thinking about this, I remembered the Jenkins quote "People who may not ever meet face to face adn thus have few real-world connections with each other can tap into the shared framework of popular culture..." (556). Although Jenkins is referring to subcultures, I think it still applies. By creating a facebook and an entire website he is making this connection with people who follow along. However, I seriously doubt they are getting to know Anderson Cooper any better.

I wonder if every night Anderson Cooper was introduced as "The former host of Celebrity Mole" people would still want to hear what he has to say?