D Monday, April 19, 2010 News �

What’s it all about?Urban Life is Metro Herald’sinnovative, award-winning study of‘Urbanites’ – young, full-time workingprofessionals in Greater Dublin. Everyyear, we will research the opinions,attitudes and lifestyles of Metro Heraldreaders, asking for their views oneverything from current affairs to coolbrands; environmental issues to must-see movies; mobile phones tomulticulturalism.

What do I get out of it?We’re genuinely interested in youropinions on the key issues of the dayand you can share these views withMetro Herald’s editorial team. Theresults will help to fuel a large numberof stories in Metro Herald during theyear. As if that wasn’t enough, we’realso giving away €20,000 in prizes –hundreds of €30 All4One vouchersand one €1,000 cash prize after eachof our main surveys. And if you staywith us for a whole year and completeat least three out of four main surveys,you will be entered into our prize drawfor one €2,000 cash prize.

What’s involved?Taking part is easy. Urban Life iscomprised of four main surveys. Allsurveys are online, so you can takethem any time of day or night thatsuits you (within our survey periods).We’ll e-mail you when each one isready to complete, with each onetaking only about 15 minutes.

Sign me up nowTo join the Urban Life panel, go towww.myurbanlife.ie and follow thesimple registration instructions. OrFREE TEXT 50400 with: ‘URBAN(space) your first name (space) andyour e-mail address’ (e.g. URBANChris chris.cowley@myurbanlife.ie).Places are limited on the Urban Lifeproject, so please register early toavoid disappointment.

Cash inwith yourthoughts

Love ’em, hate ’emCELEBRITIES use the media to flogproducts and get rich; the media usecelebrities to flog newspapers andmagazines; it’s the circle of life, justas Mufasa described it to Simba in theLion King.

Without the media, celebritieswould perish, yet they complain whentheir lives are intruded upon. Withoutcelebrities, all newspapers would bethe Financial Times (and there’d beno celeb fashion gurus to tell thempink is the new black).

So what do you make of it all? Lovethem or hate them, or love to hatethem, The Age of the Slebs is welland truly here, and it doesn’t look likeit is going away.

Metro Herald asked its Urban LifePanel what they thought of the worldof celebrity culture and gossip we livein today.

Do you love all the celeb goss or doyou find it boring and pointless?

Should famous people like JohnTerry and Tiger Woods be able to getinjunctions against the press to stopthem splashing their private life allover the news? Or are celebrities fairgame as they are in the public eye?

Is a news story about ‘Brangelina’really more newsworthy and appeal-ing in modern society than a naturaldisaster or historical event?

By Ross McDonagh

More newsworthy than natural disasters? Brangelina

Do celebs belong all over the media? Metro Herald readers have a rant❯

In happiertimes: TigerWoods withwife Elin andbabydaughterSam AlexisPictures: Getty/AP

‘Mindless’: Katie Price and her ex, Peter Andre

Nay‘Sad fact is people are more

interested in what a celebrityhad for dinner than the realissues going on in the world.It’s a form of escapism fromour own boring everyday lives.’‘Celebrity: The pursuit of the

talentless, by the mindless. It’sbecome a disease of the 21stcentury.’‘Certain celebs that hog thelimelight are so irritating theymake me want to pull my eyes

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out of their sockets. Like Jordan andPeter for example… they clearlyhaven’t got any gray matter in betweenthe huge cavity they call a head. Didreporters really go to college to reportabout Paris Hilton [pictured] with herfalling over and flashing her bits?’‘I really couldn’t care less if Jordan’s

fella wears knickers or if Kerry Katonalost 42 stone in ten minutes!! I HATETHEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!’‘A complete waste of time. How on

earth does Cheryl Cole make the frontpage and the Haiti/Chile earthquakesare pushed under the rug?’

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Yay‘Love the celeb goss, celebs expect

us to pay their wages when we go tothe cinema, etc, but don’t want us toknow anything about them – tough!’‘I love the Guilty Pleasures section

because that’s exactly what it is… It’slike chewing gum for the mind – nonutritional value!’‘I think the celebrity culture is

sickening, but yet I find myself strangelyattracted to it. It’s like a drug.’‘I love the celeb goss – something to

talk about at breaktime!’‘I love it – it makes me feel that much

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better about the drama in myown life : ) Celebrities shouldunderstand the paps becomepart of their lives when theyare famous. If they don’t like it,don’t read it.’‘I think if a person makes

their living from being in thepublic eye, then they are fairgame for paparazzi etc.While I don’t believe thatBrangelina-gate holdsmore importance thanthe Haiti earthquake, Ido believe there is roomfor both.’

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What you think of the celebrities who make the news