New Celebrity Rating System from the United Nations

In recent years, the increased public interest in celebrities coupled with a proliferation in electronic and print media coverage has seen much confusion regarding the celebrity status of public figures. A bona-fide celebrity is not just someone who is famous but someone who is widely recognised and also commands public and media attention.

The United Nations (UN) announced the formation of a celebrity rating system to be known as the International Classification of Notables (ICON) at their New York City headquarters last week. The UN has assumed this responsibility as part of its charter which includes "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and as part of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.

The ICON ratings will be assigned by a panel of experts who will meet at the UN headquarters in New York City. Public figures who are considered to be a celebrity on the world stage will be given one of four classifications; A-list, B-list, C-list and minor celebrity. People who achieve a degree of public interest in just one country will not be eligible for an ICON celebrity rating. The ICON rating system will greatly reduce the number of people who can use the title A-list as the expert panel will not reward the antics of publicity hungry individuals who seek out the attention of the paparazzi, that is, those who are famous for being famous. Instead, the panel will reward professional excellence and achievements and work as a role model for the world.

It is expected that the first ratings announcement due in late 2006 will receive criticism from people omitted from the list and those given a lesser rating that they expected and the announcement will be accompanied by public disclosure of the expert panel's deliberations and reasoning behind their decisions. The ICON ratings will be reviewed and updated every three months and there will be opportunity for appeals to be made by celebrities themselves, media organisations or the general public. The appeals process will, however, require legal representation and a considerable amount of documentation to discourage frivolous claims.

Media organisations in the 191 member nations of the UN must adhere to the ratings which will be made available to the public through a website. Television shows claiming to feature celebrities will be required not to overstate the status of their participants while magazine headlines and articles are expected to make similar changes. The UN initiative will prevent further expansion of the current celebrity phenomenon which, because it has seen the celebrity tag applied to people who achieved only fleeting or questionable fame, has drawn attention away from true celebrities.

 

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