Alan Chenkin, Learned about celebrities reading magazines at the supermarket checkout
There is a scholarly article by Moshe Adler Published in the The American Economic Review, “Stardom and Talent” made the unsettling claim that fame could just be a matter of luck. Even an insignificant incident (like the unauthorized release of a sex tape) could escalate into superstardom by a sort of positive feedback loop: The more famous an entertainer becomes, the more readily you can talk about her with your friends; the more she gets talked about, the more her fame expands.[1] The Article can be found here: http://www.uvm.edu/pdodds/files/…
Keep in mind that the Kardashians work at their media coverage as hard as any business; They are backed by money and get a lot of coverage, sponsorship, and attention. Paparazzi can sell their pictures for big money, and their images and antics sell TV spots, Fan Magazines, cosmetics, clothing, and more.
We would all like to see Olympians, Shakespearean actors, and Nobel prize winners as our hero’s – but money and publicists can trump accomplishment with, you guessed it, The Kardashians.
Enjoy the show.
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Expanded from my answer to this question on Quora.
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