Media event

The theorist Marshal McLuhan has stated that the pseudo-event has been viewed as an event that is separate from reality and is to simply satisfy our need for constant excitement and interest in pop culture.

[9] The term "pseudo-event" was coined by the theorist and historian Daniel J. Boorstin in his 1961 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America: “The celebration is held, photographs are taken, the occasion is widely reported.”[10] The term is closely related to idea of hyperreality and thus postmodernism, although Boorstin's coinage predates the two ideas and related work of postmodern thinkers such as Jean Baudrillard.

Edward Bernays and his Torches of Freedom campaign in 1929 is an example of an early media event that successfully influenced public opinion.

Similarly, Nikita Khrushchev visit to the United States in 1959 was highly influential, and has been cited as the first example of media events being utilized in politics.

[13] Media events became practical in the middle 19th century as the Morse telegraph and the expansion of daily newspapers introduced same-day news cycles.

When musical artist Prince pretended to take questions during his Super Bowl press conference but instead broke immediately into song, his performance itself became a meta media-event-within-a-media-event.

The public relations industry targets all sectors, not just government, with pseudo-events on behalf of representing and maintaining their clients’ interests and image.

Examples include taking photos with a character or actor who plays the part of an authentic local or buying souvenirs at a market.

Examples of pseudo-events created by celebrities range from anything from signing autographs, making public appearances, holding an exclusive event, or doing projects with charities.

Jack Fuller, President of Tribune Publishing Company, has touched on this topic and how this form of gathering information for non-scientific reasons can be inauthentic.