The modern world is oversaturated with various kinds of information that the general public is not always easy to perceive. Journalists are constantly looking for such ways of presenting material in order to interest the masses with them. Recently, in the media sphere, more and more methods of infotainment are used. This is a unique variety of modern culture with its own characteristics and functions.
Read more about the concept
Infoteiment (infoteiment) - a word borrowed from the English language, which was formed from the two words “information” and “entertainment”, in the Russian version “information” and “entertainment”.
Infotainment is a new way of working with modern media when information is presented in an entertaining way. With the help of theatricality and games, journalists attract a viewer or reader, and draw his attention to a specific issue.
Infotainment is also the method of work of marketers, other economic agents, with the help of which they form consumer demand for certain goods or services.
Infotainment also means a whole culture that reflects the development trends of modern society. This is a powerful tool in the arsenal of the media, with the help of which opinions and trends are created.
The origins of
A new cultural phenomenon arose in the 80s of the XX century in America. Then the ratings of the channels began to decline rapidly, and the editors of television programs applied the informational content format in practice: the emphasis in the selection of material was placed on socially important and cultural topics. On the air, official and dry expressions have become less used, which made the information boring and difficult to perceive. More attention was paid to details that interest the public: clothing, gait, and manners. The vocabulary of reporters and talk show hosts has become more vibrant, emotional, and controversial.
The first television show, embodying the techniques of infotainment, was the American program “60 minutes”. In it, for the first time, the presenter participated in the report along with his heroes. Thus, viewers could recognize not only certain information, but also the hidden opinion of the narrator himself, which he expressed with gestures, facial expressions or, at first glance, random smiles. This was no longer an impartial monologue, but a contradictory dialogue with many opinions and points of view.
Since that time, the news has been divided into two types: information and entertainment-information. First, accurate and objective facts were reported, and secondly, these same facts were placed in a bright shell, which gathered a lot of people from the screens and raised the ratings.
Features and signs
Once upon a time, journalists asked the following question: “What to tell the public?” Today, this dilemma is: “How to tell this is interesting and exciting?” This question is answered by the infotainment system with a huge arsenal of various techniques. The following features are characteristic of the new media culture:
- entertainment and information;
- primacy of form;
- some neglect of the content;
- emotionality and expressiveness;
- fragmented presentation of information;
- attractive visual range;
- focus on commerce;
- a combination of different genres and styles.
Infotainment is, first of all, a way of attracting the public to one or another communication channel. In pursuit of high ratings, the media in every possible way dodge, inventing new forms of providing information. The main emphasis is on the game and entertainment, which gives the content emotionality and excitement. This catches the audience, fascinates her, because she is interested to know what will happen next, than it will all end.
In creating infotainment a creative, non-standard approach is very important. Boring news or scientific facts should be presented in such a way that the reader or listener has a feeling of ease and freedom. That is why there are so many talk shows on modern television where the presenter and invited guests discuss various socially important topics. Very often, everything turns into the so-called "farce", where everyone tries to shout out to each other, but this is also part of attracting a large number of spectators.
Infotainment Functions
A modern cultural phenomenon performs many functions. In some ways, they resemble the main tasks of the media that are associated with society and its development.
Infotainment has the following goals:
- informative;
- entertaining;
- communicative;
- educational;
- attracts and retains the attention of the public;
- Satisfies the needs of society;
- forms a certain behavior and opinion;
- simplifies information.
Why is this so relevant?
It is very difficult for people to navigate in the rapid flow of information, because there is too much of it. Lost in the variety of news and discoveries, they gradually despair, are unable to perceive new material. An innovative journalistic method comes to the rescue, presenting information in a light, easy way. It saves people from the fear of constantly arriving information, forms a definite opinion with them about current events.
Critical opinions
Infotainment in journalism is used everywhere. However, the opinion about its use is very ambiguous. Many researchers believe that the media pay too much attention to the entertainment of their products, without paying any attention to the content. It is believed that information content in them is minimized, the public does not extract useful and important information for it. Many journalists attribute such media to low-quality communication channels that do not fulfill their basic functions, but pursue only commercial goals.
Infotainment in various types of media
First of all, the role of infotainment on television is huge, because it was here that it was presented for the first time. Today, almost every program is entertaining and informative, it performs all the functions and tasks of this method.
A variety of talk shows have become a popular television product of the new culture. These are programs on which invited media personalities and experts discuss the current topic. Talk shows appeared in America, where their presenters are the country's most famous and respected journalists. On Russian television, this type of program is also very popular. Basically, the subject of discussion of the participants is social and political topics.
Infotainment is used in various educational programs or documentaries. Usually these are stories about how a particular product is produced. Such films are also advertising that attracts potential consumers. The public is dedicated to the production process of a particular product. And knowledge of manufacturing technology increases consumer confidence in the product. We can say that films of this kind combine the functions of infotainment in education and marketing. On the one hand, they inform society, and on the other, they inspire it with the need to purchase a product.
Basically, in the print media, this method of reporting is used to cover high-profile news and gossip. It is generally accepted that infotainment is a weapon of the "yellow" press. However, in modern reality this is not so, the division of various periodicals into qualitative and tabloid is very conditional. The main goal of print media, as well as television, is to increase circulation, therefore, focusing on the needs of the mass audience.
An important element in creating press information in the press is the title of the article, because it is it that catches the eye in the first place. To achieve maximum expression, journalists transform famous proverbs, aphorisms or sayings. The personification of the headings is also widespread, for example, “An hour of cinema with Anatoly”. The articles emphasize colloquial words and expressions, which makes speech natural.
Very often, infotainment in various types of media is intertwined with infotainment in politics, since this topic is the subject of the most heated and controversial discussions.
Infotainment in Russia
On domestic television, infotainment appeared after perestroika. For the first time, his tricks were realized by Leonid Parfyonov in the famous telecast of the time “The Day Before”. The creators of infotainment content focused on the experience and achievements of American colleagues. The main emphasis was placed on a variety of genres and opinions, which were organically intertwined among themselves in the framework of one project.
Today, infotainment content occupies a significant share of Russian television. The main television channels producing such programs were NTV, Russia and Channel One.
