Los Angeles - The network that airs Jamie-Lynn Spears’ popular tween TV show Zoey 101 is considering broadcasting a special on teen sex, according to media reports Monday.
Nickelodeon issued a statement supporting the 16-year-old’s decision to “take responsibility” for her situation.”
A spokesperson for Nickelodeon stressed that they are “trying to figure out what is the best thing to do for kids”.
Last week, the younger Spears announced that she is three months pregnant and plans to keep the baby.
Most celebrity news outlets did not hesitate to pounce on the news that Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old star of “Zoey 101” on Nickelodeon and younger sister of Britney, is pregnant. OK! magazine was first to print the news, which was quickly picked up — and milked — by just about everyone else.
With the noteworthy exception of fan magazines aimed at teenagers.
For these publications, the salacious contrast between the actress’s good-girl image and her real life posed a problem: the pregnancy of an unwed teenager usually would be a “we don’t go there” story, but Jamie Lynn and her wholesome-looking cast mates on “Zoey 101” have been such regular fodder that it would be awkward to ignore it.
Editors of fanzines like Tiger Beat, Bop, Twist, J-14 and M retreated into meetings last week to figure out how — and if — they should handle the development. Some editors said they were still figuring out their approach. Others said they might try to turn it into an educational opportunity.
“It would be crazy to touch this particular topic,” said Molly MacDermot, the editor of Twist and M, which, with J-14, are published by Bauer. “What’s shocking is that she’s always been the clean, down-to-earth one.”
Early last week, before the pregnancy came to light, Ms. MacDermot’s magazines were set to interview Jamie Lynn — which was considered a coup because the actress has always been “really protected from the media,” Ms. MacDermot said. But just before the news came out, she said the interview was canceled, with Jamie Lynn citing “holiday obligations to her family.”
So far, J-14 has addressed Ms. Spears’s pregnancy on its home page, where the headline “Jamie Lynn Spears’ Shocking Confession” is accompanied by a photo of the actress and a link to a MySpace site.
Starlets like Britney Spears, Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton usually get banned from the pages of teenage magazines after they get into trouble, but Jamie Lynn may prove to be an exception. Her fans have been so caught up in the news that Tiger Beat and Bop magazines have decided to address her pregnancy, said Leesa Coble, the editor of both.
“There is a sense among our readers of being let down by someone they admired,” Ms. Coble said. “They are asking whether it’s true. It’s a hard topic for this age group.”
Laufer Media, the magazines’ publisher, has not made a final decision, but Ms. Coble said the company was weighing an online post or a column by a therapist to address teenage pregnancy and the questions it poses.
“We don’t want to report it as news, then just move on,” Ms. Coble said. “Because Jamie Lynn is someone girls have looked up to. But what she did is not something you should emulate.”
Matthew Rettenmund, editor of Popstar!, said the magazine cited Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy on its Web site. “We will be making a note — very short — of it in our next issue, in February,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment