This is a fine example of a beat-up media story about Kylie Minogue that originated in the UK tabloid press and was based on hearsay.

Stories like this are a spurious excuse to feature sexy photos of Kylie, appealing to her huge audience of fans who are always keen to know what she’s up to.

The segment relies on file footage of Kylie in concert on her Rhythm of Love tour and ‘raunchy’ photographs published in London’s Daily Star newspaper under the sensational headline ‘Sex Queen Kylie’.

It is certainly no accident that the story, broadcast on Seven News on 30 October 1992, came just nine days after Madonna’s lucrative and controversial Sex book was published. Comparisons between Kylie and Madonna are also present in the Daily Star headline ‘The New Madonna’, although Madonna’s name is not mentioned in the Seven News voice-over.

The layout of the double-page spread is typical of tabloid newspapers where images dominate at the expense of text. It’s ironic though that the grainy images are not very sensational; they’re little more than what we would expect from a cosmetics or swimsuit advertisement.

Notes by Mel Bondfield