Tabloid Culture: Why Britney and Jessica Matter More Than the President May 10, 2006

Over the past three decades, the mass media has become increasingly focused on celebrity culture at the cost of hard news. Or has it? Some would argue that today's glossies are the offspring of tabloids that were raking muck a century ago. To others, the celebrity obsession represents a new low, foreshadowing the demise of Western culture. What is the truth and what goes on in the minds of the people who follow Tom Cruise's every move for a living? Explore all things glitterati with a panel of top editors.

Jessica Coen is the editor of Gawker.com. Jessica Seigel is a cultural commentator (The New York Times, NPR) and professor of journalism at NYU. Kelly Will is an events editor at Star. Moderator Peter Hyman is a journalist and the author of The Reluctant Metrosexual: Dispatches from an Almost Hip Life. More info here.

Also, I'm sure they'll talk about Brit's "surprise" baby announcement.