gutter press
1
8.1
- noun
- Offensive
:
prensa sensacionalista
- Much like the crassness of the gutter press in Britain and the United States, it has the effect of obliterating entire regions of lived culture and substituting for them a cultural surface that might be read as a text no less canonical for being, or rather for becoming, popular.
Examples
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It is gutter press.
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- Say not a word, Martha, not a word in front of the gutter press.
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The gutter press, out of control, with no values or morals, will do anything for money.
Blog text (31) -
Perhaps they feel it's too grim, and something reserved for the gutter press.
Blog text (10) -
He's a no-good muckraker from the gutter press.
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Unless you positively wish to subject her to the further humiliation of seeing you arrested and taken away in front of the gutter press Mr Wilde, you must go.
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In August 1969, the magazine, protective of its main attraction, led a campaign against the gutter press, which predicted the end of Hallyday's marriage and career ("Le Muse de S.L.C." 32).
Academic text (2014) -
The gutter press often sensationalizes personal scandals to attract readers.
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Many criticize the gutter press for prioritizing profit over journalistic integrity.
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She refused to believe the story published in the gutter press about her family.
Synonyms
188
3.7
A small newspaper or magazine that tells gossip and exciting stories about people
2
5.2
Reporting that exaggerates and uses shocking stories to attract readers while ignoring the truth
Newspapers that print shocking and often untrue stories to get more readers
News outlets like some newspapers or TV shows that use gossip and scandal to attract attention
How Sensational
- Offensive
1
8.1
- Literature
188
3.7
- Literature
1
3.2
- Literature
3
4.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound links 'gutter' (metaphor for something low, dirty or degraded) with 'press' (newspapers/media), so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer it refers to low-quality or morally dubious journalism. However, the specific sense—sensationalism, ethical lapses and scandal-focused reporting—is metaphorical and culturally loaded, so the full nuance is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The noun gutter press may come from the image of a gutter, the dirty drain at the side of a street, and press, meaning newspapers. So the phrase paints a picture of newspapers that come from the 'gutter' and chase 'scandalous' or 'gossip' stories, which is why it means papers that publish sensational, often inaccurate news.