Formerly Dotspotter, The Insider is now owned by TV titan CBS and has become one of the top sites for current celebrity news, pictures and videos of the stars. The Insider updates several times daily, with multiple news stories sometimes breaking within minutes of each other. The site’s focus is on Hollywood gossip, but fashion, music and other trends are covered when the buzz is particularly hot.
Polls are popular on The Insider, and a hot topic is featured daily so readers can weigh in with their opinions. Should a couple have broken up? Is this actress’ outfit a disaster? Users can see what answer was chosen by the most fans, and also add comments for public viewing to justify their positions.
The “Hit or Miss” feature is also popular with Insider users, who can view current photographs of their favorite celebrities and decide whether the fashion choices are terrific or terrible. User comments range from defensive to hilarious as regular readers judge the celebrity getups, from gowns to jogging suits.
The Insider also hosts a nightly half-hour entertainment show, with exclusive video footage featured regularly on the website. Produced by CBS Television, the show is hosted by Lara Spencer with Chris Jacobs as a correspondent and Niecy Nash as a panelist.
Fans of the website as well as the TV show can see previews of the nightly show, plus read tantalizing teasers of the evening’s featured gossip. Each name in the news is linked to the current stories on The Insider web page, for those who can’t wait for the broadcast to read about their favorites.
Registered users of The Insider can participate in interactive site features. In addition to commenting on stories, users can add friends, write on friends’ walls, customize their Insider page and challenge friends to a round of TriviaPop.
