Abstract

Tabloid media and the process of tabloidization are terms that refer to the deterioration of serious news gathering and reporting associated with the quality press that resulted from successive concessions to market liberalism and individualism (Franklin, 1997; Rowe, 2011: 452; Sparks and Tulloch, 2000). Early incursions into the tabloid genre date from the nineteenth century with experimental publications designed to appeal to popular taste, but it was only during the ensuing century that the term gained specific application to print media. The fast and large acceptance of the term was arguably driven by the multiple and reinforced expressions of disapproval from public intellectuals (Greenberg, 1996).