The End of the Honeymoon Relationship: “High Price ” Paid by The Entertainment Reporter Under Johnny and Associates

At the September 7 press conference of the Johnny & Associates, at which Keiko Fujishima, Noriyuki Higashiyama, and Yoshihiko Inohara took the stage, a group of reporters familiar to the wide world of entertainment news gathered at the Tokyo hotel where the press conference was held more than two hours before the reception time. Among them were reporters known in the industry as Johnny’s supporters.

 

They were sitting in the front row of the venue as usual, following the “custom” and waiting for an opportunity to ask a question. For some reason, the first person the female moderator picked was not a reporter, but a journalist sitting in the middle row.

“If the moderator and the PR firm in charge had not been “unfamiliar” with the event, the reporters in the front row would have been the first to be nominated, which would have made things easier to understand in a sense. However, the moderator’s nominations continued to vary, and the reporters were assigned by the block they were sitting in or by their appearance, such as “the one in the brown jacket” or “the one with glasses,” which was different and quite irritating for the janitorial reporters.”

“What was also different from the regular press conferences held by Johnny’s, was that there were no female reporters who are “fans” of the TV and idol magazine editorial departments. If they had been there, there would have been many more questions about Higashiyama, who is retiring from show business within this year.”

 

In fact, at the press conference, only the entertainment reporter mentioned Higashiyama’s schedule as a celebrity, saying that he had just formed a private fan club, that he had stage performances, and that he had dinner shows. Normally, their questions would not have been limited there.

Where Will Johnny’s “Host” Reporters Go From Here?

Where Will Johnny’s “Host” Reporters Go From Here?

It has been more than 10 years since the entertainment corner, which used to be a permanent feature of the wide shows of the Tokyo key stations, disappeared. At TV Asahi, “The Shinichi Hatori Morning Show” was the first to discontinue its entertainment section. No longer do we see reporters introducing entertainment news.

 

For the past several years, it has been the norm for directors and reporters to take the place of reporters with microphones at non-Johnny’s related entertainment press conferences. However, Johnny’s was the only company that absolutely wanted to have a female reporter.

“The old practice had always been ingrained in Johnny’s of surrounding the idols with female reporters and making the press conference full of yellow voices and smiles from start to finish. During the interval, only the female reporters were invited to a separate room where they were served sumptuous lunches and given pre-prepared questions to ask. This was to ensure that the press conference would proceed ‘according to the script’”

 

These “in-house reporters” would never handle a scandal involving Johnny’s unless it was criminal or social in nature, as was the case in the present case.

“The TV stations have no intention of dealing with scandals from the beginning, so it is inevitable. But they do get something in return. I heard that they receive “gifts” such as orchids on their birthdays, and that they can easily get tickets to live concerts.”

“Although it does not seem to be free, the celebrities come to give fan service to the reporters who can sit in the front rows or in the box seats of the Tokyo Dome, which have become platinum tickets, so they can feel superior during the live concerts. This is why they feel so superior during the concert. They called the ticketing staff at the office “Ticket Pia” and used them heavily.”

However, it is fair to say that those days are completely over. With the release of new work by their talents almost completely gone, and the agency itself in the wind, where will the janitorial reporters go from here?

 

“I think the number of jobs at key stations will decrease drastically, but they are making regular appearances on local wide shows. If they do Johnny’s stories, they can get numbers. They have the support of a certain segment of Johnny’s fans, so I don’t think they will leave Johnny’s.” (Entertainment agency executive)

TV stations and sponsors who have been enjoying the benefits of Johnny’s are all turning their palms. 

 

 

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