Prior to our class discussion on infotainment news casts, I was already familiar with the idea that in the hyper-competitive media environment, news and information stories are increasingly presented as entertainment pieces. Rather than delivering hard-hitting, factual news stories, media outlets select specific aspects from available information to create stories that appeal to human interests. Many argue that this shift in media production and delivery is distorting the truth of stories, and creating an increasingly misinformed audience. Yet, as people continue to abandon television broadcasts, newspapers, and traditional news sources for online sites and publications, I wonder, are we responsible for the selection of the information we seek?
With limited amounts of free time, are people genuinely interested in all news stories, or do we purposely seek only those stories that have direct appeals to our interests? Do people utilize RSS feeds to select the information most relevant to their lives, or are such devises, including smart phone and e-reader applications, simply tools used to ignore the stories that we simply do not want to hear? It is arguable that in the pervasive media environment of today, people are so saturated with information that they must use their own selection efforts to identify and obtain the information that is most relevant to their lives. However, in my more critical opinion, selection can be used by individuals to simply ignore the negative events in the world and focus solely on stories that fit our own expectations, interests, and desires.
So, is infotainment a product of media producers or media consumers? Perhaps it is both. Maybe media producers must select specific images, frame certain information, and present limited and carefully arranged stories to attract viewers, who would otherwise simply ignore traditional outlets for modern media sites tailored to the specific interests of the audience. Perhaps as the audience transforms from media consumers to media producers, we have accelerated the shift toward infotainment through our own acts of purposeful selection.
Hilary,
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of what we discussed in class today after our classmates presented chapter 3 form the text to the class today. Although I don’t want to admit it, I believe that it’s the consumers that are controlling what media content is being produced. The producers of media content’s main goal is to make money, and the way for them to make money is to broadcast what is of interest to their audience. Today’s society is more interested in celebrity gossip and entertainment-based stories rather than historical and educational pieces. Because of this and in order to keep profits high, it makes sense for the producers of media content to shift away from traditional news stories to infotainment.
I have a related real life example of my argument. Yesterday in my global studies class (of about 90 students), Professor Lule asked our class which TV channel we watch most frequently. The channel with the most votes wasn’t Fox, CBS, MSNBC, or any other news channel; it was MTV. MTV is known for broadcasting your typical trashy reality TV shows, not traditional news stories. This example just goes to show that media consumers control what media producers are broadcasting.