Who is the “entertainment desk” that we don’t hear about anymore?　What is the role of the “entertainment desk”?

What is the difference between an “entertainment reporter” and an “entertainment desk”?

On January 27, Fuji Television held a controversial press conference on the issue of Masahiro Nakai’s “sexual assault. More than 400 reporters packed the press conference room, and most of them asked questions, so the press conference, which began at 4:00 p.m., lasted more than 10 hours.

Although it was a corporate press conference, many people were probably watching the live broadcast, expecting the “entertainment reporters” to throw sharp questions, since it was held at a TV station and involved celebrities. However, perhaps because of the power of the other reporters, their presence could not be felt at the press conference. Entertainment reporters have been completely overshadowed recently, and the “entertainment desk,” which used to work in tandem with them in pursuit of entertainment news, is no longer to be seen.

The entertainment industry is a world of many different professions. In addition to celebrities, singers, actors, and models, there are also directors, producers, and directors on the production side. The “behind-the-scenes” people such as stage sets, props, lighting, hair and make-up artists, and stylists are also “people in the entertainment industry.

Furthermore, although not well known to the general public and rarely seen, there are people called “entertainment desks” at all of the Tokyo key stations, with the exception of NHK and TV Tokyo. They are mainly involved in information programs, but what exactly do they do?

What kind of work do these people do? They are employees of production companies, former sports newspaper reporters, or entertainment reporters. Roughly speaking, they are involved in everything related to entertainment on the TV station’s information programs.

Specifically, when dealing with entertainment news, they contact the various newspapers and magazines to obtain permission to use their articles. I contact entertainment agencies to obtain permission to use photographs of celebrities. And we have a wide range of tasks, such as applying for interviews. I also serve as a partition when a celebrity holds a press conference. I am not a moderator, but I manage the entire press conference from behind the scenes,” said a director of an information program.

It all started in the early 1980s.

But the entertainment desk was not there from the beginning. We spoke with a former TV executive who had experience on the entertainment desk.

He said, “It must have been in the early 1980s. The stations began to broadcast wide shows and started to handle entertainment news. As the name “wide” implies, wide shows covered all kinds of news, including politics, economics, and events. Of these, entertainment is the one that gets the most numbers (viewer ratings). Every wide show has created an “entertainment corner” where entertainment news is shown every day. Scandals and relationships of celebrities are reported. Marriages and events. Drama, movie, and stage production announcements, new song announcements by singers, and many other entertainment-related topics were covered.

As a result, it became impossible for the program director alone to handle them all. That is why we needed a staff member who specializes in this field. At that time, in addition to handling weekly magazine reports, entertainment reporters who had exclusive contracts with the program also covered the show.

Needless to say, it was easier for the entertainment agencies to deal with the same person rather than having a different person in charge every time they wanted to announce an event or conduct an interview. At the time, there were many programs dealing with entertainment news and many topics related to entertainment, so they were on call 24 hours a day to collect entertainment stories. However, there was a limit to the number of cameramen, directors, and reporters, and it would not be efficient to conduct coverage independently for each program. This is where the entertainment desk comes in.

In this case, each program would have its own crew to cover the event. In this case, instead of sending out a crew to cover each program, one program can do the reporting and use the material for its own program, which saves costs. It is the job of the entertainment desk to facilitate this kind of horizontal cooperation.

Press conferences for celebrities, which have become much less common recently, are also sometimes organized by the entertainment desk. When a press conference is held at a TV station, the entertainment desk of that station is in charge of the conference, and in some cases the entertainment desks of the stations cooperate in organizing the press conference at the request of the entertainment agencies. They are indispensable to TV stations that broadcast information programs dealing with entertainment news.

Annual income is between 7 and 10 million yen.

Entertainment desks used to work behind the scenes of wide shows, but some stations have created famous entertainment desks, and some have even begun to appear on wide shows as commentators themselves.

However, wide shows are now handling entertainment news much less frequently, and the presence of entertainment desks has begun to fade away.

Press conferences are now often interrupted by event companies, as was the case with the old Johnny’s press conferences. This is because the entertainment agencies also have a public relations person in charge, so that they can respond to any contact from anyone.

However, this does not mean that entertainment desks are no longer needed. For example, Fuji Television used to have a regular entertainment reporter on “Information Presenter Toku Dane! Masaki Omura, 57, who used to appear regularly as an entertainment reporter on “Jyoho Presenter Toku Dane!

Clearly, his work has been drastically reduced. Those who work for production companies will have no trouble earning even if their work is reduced, but those who work on a freelance contract basis will have a hard time. Contracts may be per year or per program, and they vary from person to person. I heard that the entertainment desk at one station has a lifetime contract that allows them to continue as long as they can work. The guaranty is not bad. It is probably between 7 and 10 million yen per year. I don’t think his remuneration will suddenly decrease just because his workload has decreased, but his future is uncertain.

Now that celebrity press conferences and interviews have almost disappeared, there are fewer opportunities to see entertainment reporters. No newcomers have emerged. Entertainment reporters are destined to disappear. What will happen to the entertainment desk?