Who?: Nasty Grace

yes, i can imagine the trope easily from the description; i have no idea who nancy grace is and i don't like a constructed insult against her as a page title so while a renaming may be in order, I see no reason for a cut.

Wut?

I don't think it needs a name change. I think the idea here is that Nasty Grace is an over-the-top parody of the real Nancy Grace. The character is a nastier version of the real thing. I rewrote the description to make that a little clearer.

It does need more wicks, however.

I doubt that we need an article about a parody versions of one person. We wouldn't even want an article about parody versions of a single character from a single work.

edited 9th Mar '11 6:42:49 PM by Camacan

Using Nancy Grace as the Trope Namer is kind of short sighted. Only those who live in the US who have cable will have a clue who she is. The type is recognizable.

And people who actually bother to learn the name of reporters.

I guess that's true. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any examples of this trope that aren't specifically parodying Nancy Grace, but if they're out there they shouldn't be excluded.

I recognize the character type, but not the original character. Are you sure that they're all parodies of her? It's a character type I remember from old black and white films and I don't think she's that old.

Nancy Grace is just the most recent incarnation.

Hildy Johnson is NOT an example I just checked.

But I think there might have been one in an episode of Phineas And Ferb.

edited 9th Mar '11 10:22:39 PM by blackcat

And the early gossip queens of Hollywood, like Hedda Hopper were also notorious for skewing stories they reported wrong if they didn't like the subject.

Not too fond of the real Nancy Grace, but also not fond of using the name strictly as a Take That! (not denying I've been guilty of that before, but the tropes were rightfully renamed).

Bitchy Lying Crime Reporter?

Sensationalist Reporter?

Little Mary Sunshine from Chicago fits.

Nelly Bly Real Life

edited 9th Mar '11 10:49:56 PM by blackcat

As the launcher for this post, I find myself agreeing: Nasty Grace isn't informative, and it's too close to a Take That! to the real Nancy Grace. Sensationalist Reporter sorta fits, but this is like someone who's on a crusade against a celebrity or the like.

edited 9th Mar '11 10:49:24 PM by MrInitialMan

Do we have Yellow Journalist or is that something different?

Strawman News Media?

That's a much broader trope, and this character isn't always a strawman.

Characteristics:

• Reporter in any medium who will manipulate a story to get readers/ratings/etc.
• Will skew a story to make someone they don't like look bad.
• Focuses primarily on celebrities but will go after anything that is sensational.
• Maybe a gossip columnist or an investigative reporter, or...
• Often female, but not always.

Edited list to reflect comments from SSOT and Maddy.

edited 10th Mar '11 11:25:35 AM by blackcat

^ Those aren't what the trope as currently written is (That's "Bitchy reporter who accuses innocent people of vile crimes"), but I think it's far more of a valid trope. I'd take out the "always female" in favor of "usually female". The asshole reporter in Die Hard and Die Hard 2 fits the rest of it — he'll do anything to get the the story on the air, no matter who it endangers.

edited 10th Mar '11 8:06:13 AM by Madrugada

If this trope was just a satire of Nancy Grace, we wouldn't see examples of this trope outside the U.S.

What blackcat said, basically.

edited 10th Mar '11 9:14:09 AM by Redhead

There's also that guy from Its Walky. He had a penis. So Yeah.

The Muckraker?

I've always heard that one as a more positive term.

I agree that the name needs changing. This archetype is Older Than Television at the very least.

edited 10th Mar '11 11:44:26 AM by DoktorvonEurotrash

Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter plays this sort of role.

Yellow Journalism Reporter works, as a) that is their tactic, and b) it makes it clear it's about the reporter instead of the news people in general.

Yellow Journalist?