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52
The Spin Crowd also uses reality television to propose that celebrity events are the
only aspect of entertainment public relations. Almost every episode shows some scene of
the girls working with celebrities. They host a party for a men’s tanning product with
Mario Lopez; throw a charity event for Kelly Osbourne; organize a ribbon cutting event
with Shannen Dougherty; fly to New York City to work with Kim Kardashian; and
promote Carmen Electra’s new line of sex toys. Like PoweR Girls, every episode
showcases some sort of celebrity event, and once again, the image is presented that
entertainment public relations is only about the celebrity.
While the episodes on Kell on Earth do not revolve around celebrities, they are
occasionally shown, and the glamour of the industry is still maintained. Despite the
problems and tension of the office that appear, the end result of a beautiful fashion show
or designer event is always shown. Cutrone and her colleagues are often shown talking
with the designers and introducing them to international magazine editors. In episode
two, Cutrone talks about people from Vogue attending one of the fashion shows, and is
shown escorting Martha Stewart to her seat. While the occasional mention or camera shot
may reference or show a celebrity, this is not the core of Cutrone’s business. However,
glamour is still portrayed throughout the series, showing the staff as “in the know” for the
latest in fashion. Whether it was a celebrity event or a spring runway show, all three
television shows maintain the stereotype shown by Morris and Goldsworthy (2008) that
public relations is a glamorous industry (pp. 6 – 7).
As seen in the examples cited from PoweR Girls, Kell on Earth and The Spin
Crowd, the overall portrayal of the female publicist is that she either a masculine bitch or
Object Description
| Title | Power party girls, good looking crowds and one hellish boss: The portrayal of the female entertainment publicist on reality television |
| Author | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Author email | chashem@usc.edu; chashem87@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-01 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Saltzman, Joseph |
| Abstract | This thesis is an examination of the portrayal of the female entertainment publicist shown in reality television. With the large success rate of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City in the 1990s, female interest in public relations has increased, and good or bad, Jones has served as one of the predominate images of the publicist in the entertainment industry. Those who have performed critical analysis of the image of the public relations practitioner have deemed these representations as showing negative characteristics of those in the profession. While there has been previous research on the image of public relations in media, analysis of the female entertainment publicist in reality television has been left untapped.; The project consisted of a content analysis as well as interviews with various women in entertainment public relations. Three reality television shows featuring female entertainment publicists were watched: MTV's PoweR Girls (2005), Bravo's Kell on Earth (2010) and E! Network's The Spin Crowd. After conducting this analysis, the author found that the female publicist is put in one of two gender categories, the masculine bitch or the overtly sexy "PR Bunny." Other findings inferred that the dominant images within each series suggested that public relations is overall an easy field to enter, with little or no experience or professionalism needed. Finally, although the three series had some subtle differences, public relations is still shown as a glamorous job.; Interviewee responses showed that the negative representations of entertainment publicists on reality television are not indicative of the real life job itself, but that media's representation of it has led others to believe false or skewed images of the profession. Since these three shows' target demographics include young women about make a career decision, the impact they may have on this demographic, and how it may affect the future of public relations and the expectations of those about the enter the industry, is also discussed. |
| Keyword | communication; entertainment; media; public relations; reality television |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3875 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Hashem-4503 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Hashem-4503.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 52 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 52 The Spin Crowd also uses reality television to propose that celebrity events are the only aspect of entertainment public relations. Almost every episode shows some scene of the girls working with celebrities. They host a party for a men’s tanning product with Mario Lopez; throw a charity event for Kelly Osbourne; organize a ribbon cutting event with Shannen Dougherty; fly to New York City to work with Kim Kardashian; and promote Carmen Electra’s new line of sex toys. Like PoweR Girls, every episode showcases some sort of celebrity event, and once again, the image is presented that entertainment public relations is only about the celebrity. While the episodes on Kell on Earth do not revolve around celebrities, they are occasionally shown, and the glamour of the industry is still maintained. Despite the problems and tension of the office that appear, the end result of a beautiful fashion show or designer event is always shown. Cutrone and her colleagues are often shown talking with the designers and introducing them to international magazine editors. In episode two, Cutrone talks about people from Vogue attending one of the fashion shows, and is shown escorting Martha Stewart to her seat. While the occasional mention or camera shot may reference or show a celebrity, this is not the core of Cutrone’s business. However, glamour is still portrayed throughout the series, showing the staff as “in the know” for the latest in fashion. Whether it was a celebrity event or a spring runway show, all three television shows maintain the stereotype shown by Morris and Goldsworthy (2008) that public relations is a glamorous industry (pp. 6 – 7). As seen in the examples cited from PoweR Girls, Kell on Earth and The Spin Crowd, the overall portrayal of the female publicist is that she either a masculine bitch or |
