| The old fashioned wall posters that featured TV | | | | opportunity for the TV networks to premiere |
| and movie stars along with rock bands and that | | | | character outlines and even selected promotional |
| highlighted generations of teen-age bedrooms | | | | clips. This was previously the exclusive domain of |
| have been overshadowed, if not replaced, by fan | | | | morning news programs and entertainment news |
| sites on the Internet. There are untold tens | | | | magazines like Entertainment Tonight. |
| (hundreds?) of thousands of them, ranging from | | | | In the World of Sports |
| amateur idol worship to sophisticated collections of | | | | In the sports world, there are several gaming |
| information, photos and often video clips of the | | | | sites - particularly in the UK - that invite viewers |
| person, or shows being lionized. | | | | to upload their personal videos or photos of pro |
| For the most part, fan sites can upload photos | | | | athletes or games. The entire sports industry, |
| and small clips from films under the "fair use" | | | | including the gaming segment, is TV driven. Some |
| policy. Generally speaking, fair use is a | | | | sites pay for this content. In this country as in |
| court-defined copyright principle based on the | | | | Europe, many of the media savvy pro athletes |
| belief that the public is entitled to freely use | | | | have their own websites. Controversial pros such |
| portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of | | | | as Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens use those sites |
| commentary and criticism. Short clips or stills of a | | | | to respond to negative news coverage; you will |
| program or film are usually covered under fair | | | | often see their personal blogs quoted in sports |
| use. | | | | stories. Some athletes peddle their own |
| Turning Fandom into Big Business | | | | autographed memorabilia over their web sites. |
| Like most everything else on the Internet, people | | | | TV Personalities |
| are finding ways to make money from the | | | | Many teen TV and music personalities also have |
| phenomenon. There are indexes of TV fan sites | | | | their own websites and provide (ostensibly) |
| that are peppered with advertising. Sites for the | | | | personal updates on their lives, careers, etc. It has |
| soap opera stars provide particularly potent | | | | changed the nature of teen idol worship by |
| advertising opportunities. There are "official" and | | | | bringing the entertainer much closer to the fan. |
| unofficial sites dedicated to public figures in the | | | | These personal "star" sites have proven to be |
| entertainment world. Many of the unofficial sites | | | | productive publicity and outreach tools for |
| have advertising as well, while the official sites | | | | performers seeking to build a following among the |
| often peddle memorabilia. For that matter, so do | | | | 12-24 age group. They have also helped to build |
| the unofficial sites. | | | | ratings for the TV shows starring these young |
| Any Press is Good Press | | | | actors. |
| What the entertainment industry has learned is | | | | is a site dedicated to television and film industry |
| that, generally, fan sites have a positive impact on | | | | gossip, news and images. You can find television |
| the entertainer or entertainers featured. The old | | | | show clips there, presumably placed with |
| adage about negative news coverage is "Print | | | | permission from the studio. An important |
| anything you want about me, just spell my name | | | | component of their content, however, is the |
| properly." In other words, any coverage is good | | | | index of fan pages for stars of all types - music, |
| coverage, any exposure is good exposure. The | | | | movies, TV. All of this content including the fan |
| really short version is "there's no bad press." | | | | sites is interlaced with advertising for upcoming |
| For television, this is particularly important with | | | | movies and many non-entertainment, online |
| regard to the premieres of new shows and the | | | | products. |
| launch of new seasons. Web fan sites provide the | | | | |