Choi Hyejin
Choi Hyejin reports on popular music and screen entertainment for Star News, with a focus on how major artists’ careers intersect with military service, fandom, and the broader entertainment industry. Her coverage stands out for tying headline moments in K‑pop and celebrity culture to longer‑running narratives, whether that is an idol’s enlistment and discharge or an actor’s sustained popularity over time.
Military service milestones in idol careers
In her coverage of SEVENTEEN member Jeonghan’s discharge from mandatory military service, Choi frames the event as a turning point in the group’s history rather than a standalone update. She notes that his release makes him SEVENTEEN’s first member to complete service, describing him as the group’s first “veteran” and emphasizing the symbolic weight of that status within the fandom and the group’s future activities. Her writing in this piece balances factual detail about the timing of his service with the emotional and cultural significance for fans and the idol himself.
By highlighting Jeonghan’s position in the group’s chronology and using language that underscores his new status, Choi shows a clear interest in how military service reshapes an idol’s public image and career trajectory. The focus is less on procedural aspects of conscription and more on what a completed term means for comeback plans, group dynamics, and the way fans talk about longevity and maturity in K‑pop. This narrative approach marks her out from purely transactional music reporting.
Insight pieces on film and broadcasting
Choi extends her beat beyond the music stage into the film and broadcasting sectors, bringing an entertainment‑wide perspective to her work. In her Insight piece on the film “Wild Thing,” she writes under an editor’s note that introduces the story as “broadcasting, film, and entertainment issues viewed through the eyes of reporter Choi Hye‑jin.” That framing positions her as a commentator who connects individual releases with wider trends in how content is produced, promoted, and consumed.
Within this format, her role is not limited to relaying plot details or box‑office figures. Instead, she uses the film as a starting point to discuss what it signals for the industry — the kinds of stories being told, the way talent is being deployed, and how new projects might shape future viewing habits. The “Insight” label in the headline and editor’s note underscores that these are analytical pieces, where she is expected to bring judgement and context to issues that cut across music, film, and television.
This analytical strand complements her news reporting on idols and actors, giving her coverage a two‑track character: day‑to‑day updates on high‑profile figures, and deeper reads on how specific works fit into a changing entertainment landscape. That mix is useful for anyone trying to understand both immediate publicity cycles and longer‑term shifts in the Korean entertainment ecosystem.
Celebrity rankings, fandom and star image
Choi also covers the metrics of fame, such as popularity rankings and fan voting campaigns around leading actors. In her work on Kim Soo‑hyun’s run at the top of a male actor star ranking, she documents his extended period in first place and reports on ongoing fan support that keeps him there. The article is structured around the durability of his position, treating the ranking as a narrative in itself rather than just a chart updated week by week.
Her reporting in that piece incorporates direct fan participation and proposals, tying audience activity to the maintenance of a star’s image over time. By focusing on the continuity of Kim Soo‑hyun’s standing and the collective effort required to sustain it, Choi shows how numerical rankings and voting systems feed into the larger story of an actor’s career and brand.
Across these stories, a recurring preoccupation is the interaction between performers and their publics — how military milestones, new projects, and ranking records are understood through fandom, and how those responses in turn shape the next phase of a career. Whether she is writing about a K‑pop group member returning from service or an actor extending a record at the top of a list, Choi consistently situates the news inside the ongoing relationship between stars, their work, and their audiences.
4 more music journalists.
Abby Webster
Abby Webster zeroes in on the storytelling side of contemporary pop, writing for Billboard about how songs build worlds around K-pop groups, fictional pop stars and ambitious soundtracks. She covers K-pop projects through close, song-by-song features, like her track-by-track piece with SEVENTEEN’s Vernon and The 8 on their EP ‘V8,’ and fan-centered lists such as “7 Best Moments from BTS’ Long-Awaited Return.” She treats soundtracks and fictional acts with the same rigor, mapping the inspirations behind “The Vampire Lestat” soundtrack and profiling in-universe groups like HUNTR/X and Saja Boys as if they were chart acts. Through Chart Beat stories on projects like “KPop Demon Hunters,” she connects these releases to industry strategy, global fandom, and the business systems that turn pop narratives into durable IP.
Alex Suskind
Alex Suskind is a freelance writer and editor who covers music with concise news stories and curated release lists. He focuses on new songs, album roundups, and archival access, from Carly Rae Jepsen’s “On Wires” to Neil Young opening his full catalog to residents of Greenland. His reporting stays close to the release cycle and foregrounds the core hook of each story. He has written for Pitchfork and has freelance work in Vulture, The Guardian, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic. He also covers broader arts and culture, but his music beat is built around what is newly out now or newly available.
Ali Shutler
Ali Shutler links chart pop, alternative music and fan culture with the ways songs move through festivals, streaming platforms and games. He is a freelance culture journalist specialising in music, writing news and features for NME and other music and culture titles. He covers breakout chart acts, legacy artists whose catalogues are resurfacing, and how audiences rediscover songs via TikTok, streaming or in‑game soundtracks. His reporting on streaming-era pop and live festival moments tracks virality, catalog access and fan behaviour as part of the story of a track. He also examines music, gaming and visual art crossovers, treating game soundtracks and artist-led campaigns as part of a wider cultural map. Alongside this, he profiles emerging chart artists for outlets including The Telegraph, Vice, The Independent, Dork and Upset, focusing on early-career trajectories and fan culture.
Annette Sharp
Annette Sharp is a veteran gossip and entertainment columnist known for direct, opinion-led coverage of celebrity power struggles and reputational crises across television and the music industry. She now writes high-profile columns for the masthead, after a decade on a well-read gossip column and a move to News Corp in 2008. Her real beat is the friction between public image and behind-the-scenes behaviour on flagship TV programs, including breakfast shows, reality formats and other long-running franchises. She focuses on who drives conflicts, who is exposed and who benefits, using ratings history, production decisions and industry mechanics as context. Sharp covers on-air personalities, executives, advisers and musicians, treating television and music as workplaces with competing egos, contracts and alliances, and blending reporting, media commentary and critique in a narrative column format.