The 'goss' on Paul and Heather: Attitudes to celebrity and divorce in three NZ women's magazines

Abstract

In recent years the range of mass media available in New Zealand and the Pacific generally has come under increasing attention from scholars, notably in this journal. However, New Zealand women's magazines, although widely read, have not received the same depth of scholarly attention. On the social constructionist principle that close analysis of written texts can suggest much about the society in which they are embedded and the social functions they perform, this article examines 34 items about the separation of Paul McCartney ad Heather Mills from the New Zealand Women's Day, and New Idea from 3 June to 30 December 2006, to investigate the nature of gossip's appeal in general, and the magazines' attitudes to divorce in particular.