gutter press
1
8.1
- noun
- Offensive
- 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
176
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
1
7.1
Newspapers that print shocking and often untrue stories to get more readers
1
7.4
News outlets like some newspapers or TV shows that use gossip and scandal to attract attention
How Sensational
- Offensive
1
8.1
- Literature
176
3.7
- Literature
1
3.2
- Literature
2
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.