When is a person referred to with 様 in the mass media and what does it signify?


In media like TV and newspapers, it appears certain classes of people can be
referred to with the honorific "様":

The Imperial family:

> [皇太子殿下と美智子さま](http://showa.mainichi.jp/news/1959/04/post-da93.html) The
> Crown Prince and Michiko-sama

Celebrities with avid followers:

>
> [ヨン様、敗訴](http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2011/06/22/kiji/K20110622001070020.html)
> Yong-sama (Bae Yong-joon) loses suit
>
> [ガガ様は「一発屋」](http://www.news24.jp/entertainment/news/1617974.html) Gaga-sama
> (Lady Gaga) is "a one-hit wonder"

**My questions are:**

  * Do these categories cover all usage of 様 in the mass media?
  * How should I interpret the reporter's intention in using the title? How is the nuance different from the usage of 様 when addressing the recipient of an email?

* * *

Related:
[芸能人・スポーツ選手・公人に「さん」などの敬称を付けなくてもよい理由は?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1549/)




Most mass media refer to the members of the imperial family with one of the
honorifics さま, [陛下
(へいか)](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E9%99%9B%E4%B8%8B&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=117534000000)
and [殿下
(でんか)](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E6%AE%BF%E4%B8%8B&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&index=113566200000&pagenum=1).
[Article 23 of the Imperial House
Act](http://law.e-gov.go.jp/htmldata/S22/S22HO003.html#1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002300000000000000000000000000000)
regulates that the honorific for the emperor, the empress, the empress dowager
and the grand empress dowager is 陛下 and that the honorific for the other
members of the imperial family is 殿下, so I guess that when mass media use 陛下
and 殿下, they follow this distinction. I do not know how the mass media decide
when to use さま and when to use 陛下/殿下.

In the case of celebrities, mass media sometimes refer to them in the way fans
call them. This is why mass media sometimes refer to Bae Yong-joon as ヨン様,
Arnold Schwarzenegger as シュワちゃん, Aya Matsuura as あやや, and so on. I do not know
why the fans of Bae Yong-joon call him ヨン様 in the first place.

