Abstract

Information about celebrities is abundant in media, including bits of information about marginal events that appear in gossip columns; a media genre not sufficiently studied. This article analyzes Israeli national gossip columns in an attempt to identify stylistic and linguistic ways columnists frame information as confidential and personal. It is argued that the use of discursive strategies creates an illusion of intimacy between the reader and the column, inviting readers to participate in a deciphering game. Columnists engage readers by creative use of pronouns, reported speech, use of coda and lexical inventions intended to criticize and poke fun at celebrities. The analysis traces the origins of this specific discourse in Israeli modes of communication.