A specialization process has also occurred,beginning with the rise of mass market special-interest magazines,moving into broadcast with the advent of cable television,and continuing into new media,like the Internet and satellite radio.An increasing number of media outlets are available to the public that focus exclusively on one topic such as current events,home improvement,history,movies,women and Christianity.This means that consumers have more choice over whether they receive a general feed of the most“important”information of the day,or whether they get a highly customized presentation that contains only one type of content,which need not be newsworthy,and which need not come from a neutral point of view.Some publications and channels have found a sizable audience in the“niche”of featuring hard news.But controversy continues over whether the size of that audience is too small,and whether those outlets are diluting content with too much“soft”news.Adding to the distinction between journalists and anchors and reporters are“human interest”,personality,or celebrity news stories,which typically are directed by marketing departments based on a demographic appeal and audience share.It's commonly accepted that anchors are also media personalities,who may even be considered celebrities.
The very nature of corporate network news requires its media personalities to use their public appeal to promote the networks investments,just as network broadcasts themselves(morning shows,TV news magazines)schedule self-promotional stories,in addition to advertising.Critics might go so far as to view anchors as a weak link in the news trade,representing the misplacement of both the credit and the accountability of a news journalism organization—hence adding to a perceived erosion of journalistic standards throughout the news business.(See yellow journalism.)
Most infotainment,especially television programs on the networks or broadcast cable,only contain general factual information on the subjects they cover,and should not be considered as formal learning or instruction.For example you may learn that a motorcycle contains an engine,or how fast one can travel,on American Chopper,but you will not learn the inner-workings of the engine,the physics and chemistry involved when it is running,or how to customize a motorcycle on your own using schematics.
Infotainment versus Journalism
Some define“journalism”only as reporting on“serious”subjects,where common journalistic standards are upheld by the reporter.The larger“news business”or news trade encompasses everything from professional journalism to so-called“soft news”and“infotainment”,and support activities such as marketing,advertising sales,finance and delivery.Professional journalism is supposed to place more emphasis on research,fact-checking,and the public interest than its“non-journalistic”counterparts.Because the term“news”is quite broad,the terms“hard”and“soft”denote both a difference in respective standards for news value,as well as for standards of conduct,relative to the professional ideals of journalistic integrity.
The idea of hard news embodies two orthogonal concepts:
·Seriousness:Politics,economics,crime,war,and disasters are considered serious topics,as are certain aspects of law,science,and technology.
·Timeliness:Stories that cover current events—the progress of a war,the results of a vote,the breaking out of a fire,a significant public statement,the freeing of a prisoner,an economic report of note.
The logical opposite,soft news is sometimes referred to in a derogatory fashion as infotainment.Defining features catching the most criticism include:
·The least serious subjects:Arts and entertainment,sports,lifestyles,“human interest”,and celebrities.
·Not timely:There is no precipitating event triggering the story,other than a reporter's curiosity.
Timely events happen in less serious subjects:sporting matches,celebrity misadventures,movie releases,art exhibits,and so on.
There may also be serious reports which are not event-driven-coverage of important social,economic,legal,or technological trends;investigative reports which uncover ongoing corruption,waste,or immorality;or discussion of unsettled political issues without any special reason.Anniversaries,holidays,the end of a year or season,or the end of the first 100 days of an administration,can make some stories time-sensitive,but provide more of an opportunity for reflection and analysis than any actual“news”to report.
The spectrum of“seriousness”and“importance”is not well-defined,and different media organizations make different tradeoffs.“News you can use”,a common marketing phrase highlighting a specific genre of journalism,spans the gray area.Gardening tips and hobby“news”pretty clearly fall at the entertainment end.Warnings about imminent natural disasters or acute domestic security threats(such as air raids or terrorist attacks)are considered so important that broadcast media(even non-news channels)usually interrupt other programming to announce them.A medical story about a new treatment for breast cancer,or a report about local ground water pollution might fall in between.So might book reviews,or coverage of religion.On the other hand,people frequently find hobbies and entertainment to be worthwhile parts of their lives and so“importance”on a personal level is rather subjective.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infotainment)
4)Docutainment:A television program with a mixture of news and entertainment features,such as interviews,commentaries,and reviews.It is also called docutainment.
