Stars without make-up for Nov. 2011

Publication: National Examiner

Date: 21 Nov. 2011

The low rent Examiner borrows a story idea from Star, one of its better funded AMI kennel mates, and devotes most of the cover to celebrity women not wearing make-up. Being the low rent Examiner, the list of course includes some older women, notably Barbara Walters and Katie Couric, but it also has several women less than 50 years of age, including Kate Hudson, Debra Messing and Edie Falco

Love Bird Alert™: Katie Couric finding love again.

Publication: People
Date: 9 May 2011

Most other outlets are talking about Katie Couric leaving the CBS Evening News, but People wants you to know she's got a new fella.

Not enough to tell you the name of the fella on the cover, but you get the idea.

Bells Are Ringing Alert™:Katie Couric's secret wedding

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 30 August 2010

The Flagship says Katie Couric will marry her boyfriend Brooks Perlin in December. They also say that he is seventeen years younger than she is.

They got the numbers right, but according to GossipCop, the wedding stuff is completely made up. GossipCop is a very useful website, doing pretty much the same thing I'm doing, only with an actual budget and staff. I have checked out their stuff before and today I'm creating a label for posts that include links to their pages. They perform a very valuable service.

Stars without make-up

Publication: Star
Date: 2 August 2010

This is not about weight, but being photographed without makeup is probably harder on female celebrities than being photographed in swimwear. Here's my take on the six women on the cover.

Fairly flattering: Tyra Banks, Angelina Jolie, Katie Holmes, Kourtney Kardashian
Not so good: Katie Couric, Carrie Underwood

This is the closest I have seen to an unflattering story about Carrie Underwood on the cover of any tabloid so far this year.

Damn You Fat and Skinny Alerts™:Good and bad beach bodies, but mostly bad

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 8 Mar. 2010

Showing celebrities in swimwear and then mocking or praising them is very common on the covers of celebrity magazines. The Flagship says on the cover it will show the best and worst beach bodies, but they only give praise to one celebrity in a swimsuit on the cover and slag all the rest. There was one bad "Guess Who?" with the face covered up, so I opened the magazine to find out who and it was some reality TV person I've never heard of. So here's the line-up on the cover, minus the "Guess Who?"

Tori Spelling, 36: Damn You Skinny. Lots of skeleton showing.
Mrs. Pierce Brosnan, Keely Shaye Smith, 46: Damn You Fat. She's a big girl.
Mariska Hargitay, 46: Damn You Fat. Leaning forward in a two piece, there's some roll around her tummy.
Fran Drescher, 52: Damn You Fat. Cellulite on thighs.
Katie Couric 53: Damn You Skinny. She's the only one who gets high marks of the people on the cover, and she has the sense to wear a one piece black swimsuit, which can hide a lot of flaws. If she wore a two piece, they might have easily snapped an unflattering picture of her as well.

This is one of those stories that makes me a little queasy to write this blog.