Readers, Respondents, and Fans
Readers, Respondents, and Fans
This chapter focuses on Hedda Hopper's relationship with her readers, respondents, and fans. Hopper recognized the importance of her readers, respondents, and fans to her gossip career and political agenda, and she crafted her columns, as well as other writing and performances, with this importance in mind. She sought to foster a sense of community and participation among her readers and listeners by asking for and answering letters from members of her audience, and encouraging others to participate by writing letters of their own. These efforts paid off, as Hopper used her mail with newspaper editors, radio executives, and movie producers to support her positions and demonstrate her influence. In Hollywood, the volume of Hopper's mail allowed her to represent herself as “speaking for the public” in an industry uncertain of “what the public wanted”.
Keywords: Hedda Hopper, gossip columnists, readers, fans, respondents
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