Obviously salacious celebrity “news” like who is fucking whom or who is rumored to have a drinking problem or whatever is not a new thing - Grandma said that she thought it was ridiculous that her fellow housewives were eating that shit up back in the 50’s.
But just how far back does the media obsession with celebrity gossip go? Were newspapers of the 1850’s breathlessly reporting on what opera divas were up to in their personal lives? Were the Roman daily notices posted in the town square talking about their favorite gladiators being spotted at boys-only whorehouses?
When James Gordon Bennett founded the New York Herald in 1835 he built it into the largest circulation paper in America by covering shocking crime news, like the murder of a prostitute. He then expanded to virtually ever technique of today’s news, including interviews with politicians and the goings-on of the rich and famous.
Gossip has always been a keen topic of interest, as evidence by graffiti from Pompeii, e.g. Celadus the Thracian gladiator is the delight of all the girls. (Of course, Celadus may have written that himself, but it’s likely some of the others refer to celebrity doings.)