A lot has been written, opinion-wise, about Core Weekly. Now that it has ceased publication, I'd like to say that I never minded Core Weekly so much as I was disappointed that it never ended up what I expected it to be.

In the early days, before the paper's publication, I heard (from my sister, who is and was the then-editor's girlfriend) that Madison was about to get its very own celebrity rag. Having lived in Madison a long time and being familiar with most of the town's local "celebrities" — everyone from star researchers to community activists to restaurateurs — I was excited to see how celebrity journalism could be brought down to the community level. Such a thing doesn't happen much — if ever. I wanted to open the pages of Core Weekly and catch a picture of Ald. Timothy Bruer with his latest romantic interest on his arm, the both of them attending a fundraiser at Overture Center.

Core Weekly had its ups and its downs, but it was never the local celebrity rag — the U.S. Weekly of Madison — that I had hoped it would be. It was more alternative than full of gossip and glitter and Bruer's latest crush.

Now that the paper is done and gone, I'd like to argue that Madison, with its rich print-media environment, still needs some good, U.S. Weekly-style celebrity journalism (for those brave enough to call it journalism!). New York gets a truckload of gossip. Chicago gets a smattering. Madison gets absolutely none.

It's assumed that a city as modest in size as Madison doesn't have the personality for such a thing. However, the popularity of the "Know Your Madisonian" column in the Wisconsin State Journal attests to just how many interesting folks live in this city — and how much the population at large likes to read about them (or just look at their pictures).

I'd argue that Madison would actually benefit from celebrity journalism. It would motivate locals — particularly young people who aren't Madison natives — to attend community events, keep up with the local political scene and become familiar with the town's key players. And don't we all grow a bit tired of reading about what this or that student leader said during this or that meeting? Sometimes you just want to see who at the meeting was the best dressed or — even better — the worst dressed.

I think local publications shy away from such shallowness because local politicians and other notables are seen as retaining their rights to privacy. The mostly quiet work of Mayor Dave's staff, for example, is a world away from Britney Spears dressed in sexy jungle gear jumping on the back of a young man on stage during an MTV performance. Spears has it coming when people take pictures of her with her hair all a mess. Mayoral aide Jeanne Hoffman has a right to go home after a day of work without a photographer following her.

Still, celebrity journalism could be done in a fun and tactful way in Madison. There's the column in the State Journal, and, awhile back, Isthmus published a spread of some of Madison's local politicians and what their clothes and personal style said about them. This was hugely fun to read! I spoke to a couple of the alders featured, and they didn't seem to mind the attention.

Even in Hollywood and New York, some celebrities are more private than others. Darn Lindsay Lohan can't get herself out of the spotlight. It's hard to get Jodie Foster into one. Who would end up in the pages of Madison's version of U.S. Weekly would similarly be self-selecting.

While it's hard to make a case that the "reporting" of U.S. Weekly or Life & Style or People or Star or In Touch increases civic engagement, brought down to the local level, I think any of them could. While there's no chance I'm going to go to the Oscars, if I saw a spread of people all dressed up to go to a big art show that I had heard about, I have to say that I'd really regret not getting out of bed and being part of the fun.

Madison needs more celebrity gossip. It needs another Core Weekly.

Kind of.

Sophia Estante ([email protected]) is a UW senior, an English and journalism major and the chair of the City of Madison's Community Development Block Grant Commission, where she's had more than one thrilling brush with local notables.