Gawker
More than ever, that's the answer. Time Inc's People Magazine has secured the first pictures of Nicole Richie's baby, Harlow. The winning bid: $1m, according to someone who participated in the auction. Which is a useful sum for the anorexic former reality star, daughter of singer Lionel Richie. "This is probably Nicole Richie's only paycheck for all of 2008," says the source. Richie's take is impressive, but not as rich a price as that being offered for first photographic evidence of the baby boy born to Christina Aguilera, the singer, earlier this month. We hear that bidding between People and OK! Magazine, which bid $1m earlier this month, has now reached $1.5m. So what economic rationale can there be for such inflation in the cost of baby pictures?
First of all, the celebrity weeklies are minting stars who sell magazines, but can't sustain TV shows or pull audiences into movies. And the music stardom pays less than it did. So minor celebrities rely on paid exclusives for a growing share of their income.
But this is the more significant reason: celebrity weeklies represent one of the few growing magazine categories, and one of the most competitive. Never-seen-before pictures of the offspring of alpha celebrities are irresistible to female readers; they offer a guaranteed kick to sales. That's something embattled market leader, People Magazine, desperately needs. The Time Inc. title, under pressure from feistier competitors such as US Weekly, will report an 8% drop in circulation for the second half of 2007.
Not only is the former market leader trying to shore up circulation; it also now contends for "exclusives" with OK!, a UK import with no scruples about checkbook journalism. For instance, People used to buy preferential access to news from the Spears family; OK! paid $1m to poach the story of the pregnancy of younger sister, Jamie-Lynn, and future baby pictures.
You think that's premature? We're hearing that both People and OK! have put in bids for the story of Angelina Jolie's pregnancy. (The actress' first child by Brad Pitt, Shiloh, was the most valuable baby in celebrity media history, garnering donations worth $4m for US and international rights.) The difference this time: nobody even knows for sure whether the pouting Hollywood star is even expecting.
"The bidding wars going on between those two for these so-called exclusives is like nothing I've seen before," says a rival. "It's completely journalistically distasteful, but also fascinating to watch."
Comments
$90k on the black market.
In line with my earlier post, I'll start the bidding at 500k for pics of my aborted fetus.
And the second paragraph totally explains why Jessica Simpson and all these other "famous for being famous" people are in there all the damn time.
The expressions on Brad n' Angie's faces are awesome.
"See? Isn't our daughter precious and perfect, Brad? Aren't we just the luckiest, best and most perfect people in the world?"
"Um...are you sure it's mine? Oh, and I think she farted. Gross! Baby Farts!"
so this is why Gawker's britney coverage has increased recently? NOW I get it... because I didn't before.
*read with medium to heavy sarcasm*
I paid $10 for my baby but with the recession, it'd probably only go for like $8 now.
If we all chip in enough money can we make Nicole Ritchie and baby Garbo or Dietrich or whatever just go away for good?
you think it's bad here, you should go to UK. EVERYONE does the paid exclusives. the celebrities over there are absolutely shameless and with dare i say it less talent than our celebutards.
"Brad, do you love me now?"
"Huh?"
"Do you love me? See what I did for you? I did it for you!"
"Huh?"
"I didn't even throw up for months... well, but that was her fault. Do you love me? Will you leave me? I know I'm neurotic and I can be moody and a nag, but you won't leave me, right? The doctor says I have issues, but I... Brad?"
"She smells."
"We can get another."
Umm, yeah. My baby is worth so much that I won't whore it to the paparazzi for money.
Update: OK! won Baby Aguilera, at about $1.5m.
The next Manson like cult really is gonna take the fucking cake. They'll have so much material to work with.
I myself fetched $30,000 on the black market, and that was in 1954 dollars.
Shit. Who knew babies were so lucrative? Anybody want to get knocked up?
Harlow, eh? Loser mom gives kid a loser name. Doesn't anyone name thier kid Frank or Mary any more?
I'm just waiting for DismalScience to explain to me why these baby pictures are overvaluated. And to advise against buying.
There is the distinct possibility -- and I say this as a long time subsciber to People -- that nobody reads the copy in any of these rags.
@PandoraSpocks: Remember Jeff Goldblum's line in "The Big Chill?" Approximately, "we have only one rule at People. You can't write anything longer than the average person can read in the average dump. I'm tired of having all my stories read in the can."
@Truculent: You're spelling it wrong; Phreanck and Mayrrii.
@Itsjustcatnip: or Franc and Mayuree. Shit, name the kid iPhone and get it over with. If someone hasn't done it already.
@Colonel Mustard: C'mon over here, sugar.
I love Jean Harlow, so that's cool. At least she has an awareness of the existence of her. And...lord, if Jamie-Lynn really does give up her baby, shit, she could sell that kid for a cool, what, billion? To a Japanese collector?
They do realize that it's photos of Nicole Richie's baby they've paid $1 million for, and not Nicole Kidman's? A million dollars for pics of the baby of the star of "The Simple Life"?
Beware, Jezzies, the end of the world is nigh!
Why do people care about seeing celebrities' babies? All babies look exactly the same to me.
@Colonel Mustard: I'm in! I have student loans and a mortgage to pay off. We'll go halvsies after, of course, I get a little surgery to put everything back where you found it (so to speak). I'll be ovulating next week. You in?
@langtry: Wrong site. Way wrong site.
@Bufflekins: Sadly, the baby is named after Shalom Harlow
I've grown tired of celebrities gushing about their famous friends' mothering skills: "She's going to be an amazing mom!" (Just one example: Eva Longoria about Jessica Alba today.) I wish someone would tell the truth for once. "She'll be pretty good, I guess." "The baby will be fine; it'll have the nannies." Or, "I don't know, she's kind of selfish."
@redphone2: I am so sick of Eva Longoria weighing on everything. And I'm ready for her crappy movie to die die die. And then the Mavs will win a champion-no wait, they just choked. Again. All my fave teams do.
Will the other children call her Harl?
@katieee: They'll call her Hurl, as in, what my name makes want to do.
All I can say is that if the star of a cut-rate reality program is bringing in $1m for pictures of her spawn, Bret Michaels better be sure he's gloving up with the disease-bags on his show for the sake of mankind. The world will actually spin off its axis if one of those cretins earns so much as a red cent in exchange for procreating.
All I want for my baby is the medical costs, a Moldy Peaches song and for Paulie Bleeker to love me.
Don't babies pretty much all look alike anyway? I say take a picture of some generic drooler and call it whatever you want.
@katieee: @Truculent:
I'm pretty sure they'll call her Harlot.
Celeb baby story!
My ex-step-aunt Sharon Stone (she was married to my stepmom's bro) did this with US magazine, before it went all trashy-weekly. Big tasteless cover of her with long blonde extensions to simulate tousled new mom hair, cradling her new baby at the breast, despite him being adopted. Cool kid according to my stepmom, nannies doing a great job. My dad and I upon seeing this in the grocery store checkout line: "US, really? Cha-ching!" (Not the most liked member of the family, bitched out at my Dad's wedding)
Come on Nick. Celebrity moms just don't foal like us peons. Consider the overwhelming cost of multiple in vitro treatmens (you think those anorexic fiddlestix bodies are easy to knock up?) or cost of a surrogate, plus the post birth multiple plastic surgeries to return mommy's body to adolescent perfection? Millions.
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