Do We Live in a World of Media Infotainment And Melodramatic Reportage - Essay Example

?Do we live in a world of media infotainment and melodramatic reportage? Relate to at least two specific news media texts Introduction The use ofmedia in countries worldwide presents many similarities; apart from the potential differences in the technical support and the features available, media in the international community is used in order to promote a series of political, social and economic messages; most commonly, this task is developed by providing information on various political, social and commercial initiatives. In the context of the above role media has been also involved in entertainment, as this activity can result to important financial benefits for the entrepreneurs involved. Through the years it was made clear that focusing on a particular aspect of social or economic life would not result to high benefits; the combination of entertainment with the provision of information on specific political and social events was proved to be an effective solution for the owners/ shareholders of media to increase their profits. Currently, infotainment, a term used for reflecting the promotion by media of information and entertainment simultaneously, is highly expanded in countries worldwide. The specific phenomenon is explored and analyzed in this paper; reference is made to two stories which meet the terms of infotainment, meaning the way in which these stories have been promoted by media: the marriage of prince William and the sentence of Lindsay Lohan. It is made clear that media infotainment and melodramatic reportage are primarily used in order to secure the high publicity of a particular story, even for a short period of time. 2. Media and modern society – infotainment and melodramatic reportage The role of media in societies worldwide is differentiated, under the influence of the local social ethics and culture. However, through the years, these differences are decreased; the globalization of media has been a key cause for the above phenomenon. The specific problem is examined in the study of Thussu (2007); reference is made to the view of Hallin and Mancini who examined a series of media cultures worldwide and emphasized on the ‘triumph of a liberal model’ (Thussu 2007, p.68). This model supports the expansion of a global media culture, a process also known as the ‘Americanization’ of media (Thussu 2007, p.68). It is in the context of this process that infotainment has been expanded in countries worldwide. The above process is related to the limitation of national media cultures and the establishment of media rules and ethics that are common in all countries – at least those being affected by the particular media system. In other words, infotainment reflects the trend for the promotion of a global media culture (Thussu 2007, p.68). Melodramatic reportage has been another aspect of the above trend, supporting – like infotainment – the promotion of common media ethics and rules for all countries worldwide. In order to understand the level at which media infotainment is currently developed worldwide, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics and the content of the particular term, i.e. to show the activities and ideas that the above term incorporates. In accordance with Kellner (2003) ‘infotainment discloses a synergy between information technologies and multimedia which combine entertainment and information’ (Kellner 2003, p.14). In other words, infotainment incorporates two different media roles, the provision of information and the entertainment. The combination of these roles can lead to a dynamic media concept, being able to attract the interest of people of different ages and social classes. Various explanations have been given in the literature regarding the expansion of infotainment. In accordance with Lange (1999) the increase of competition in media has led to the alteration of the content and the structure of news programmes; instead of focusing on political news, media emphasizes on ‘human interest stories’ (Lange 1999, p.27). It is in this context that the use of infotainment, characterized as ‘a contraction of information and entertainment’ (Lange 1999, p.27) has been increased. In other words, infotainment is developed as a result of the need of people for more entertainment and less information on the political events and plans. From another point of view, the promotion of infotainment through media is related to the commercialization of media. Indeed, in accordance with Papathanassopoulos, media has been traditionally regarded as a channel for providing information to the public (Papathanassopoulos 2011, p.68). However, the increase of use of media as advertising tools, has gradually led to the alteration of rules and principles on which the operation of media is based. This phenomenon is more intense in developed countries – where the funds invested on media advertising are quite high. The differentiation of the forms of communication used by people has been another factor supporting the expansion of infotainment; reference is made specifically to online features such as the Facebook, MySpace and You Tube, well known social networking websites with millions of users worldwide (Papathanassopoulos 2011, p.68). Another explanation for the expansion of infotainment is given in the study of Aggarwal (2002); in accordance with the above researcher, the promotion of infotainment has been strongly based on the development of technology; the appearance of features of advanced technology in daily communication systems has also affected the media. The ‘revolution in information technology, as being continued today’ has strongly helped the expansion of infotainment (Aggarwal 2002, p.22); it is the trend for further update of information systems used in media that could be used as the basis for the increase of the power of media infotainment worldwide. A similar explanation for the expansion of infotainment worldwide is given by Atkin (2007); in accordance with the above researcher, the establishment of advanced features in Internet, such as the blogs, has strongly benefited infotainment, which is heavily based on these communication tools. The increased credibility of blogs, as sources of information, compared to TV news, has been another reason for the initiators of infotainment to choose blogs for promoting the specific media concept (Atkin 2007, p.190). The use of blogs in infotainment has another aspect: blogs are considered as tools for promoting the democratization of society – through the decentralization of information (Atkin 2007, p.190); at the next level, the use of blogs as tools for promoting infotainment could further increase their power as channels of communication. In this way, the democratization of the society – in terms of gathering and categorizing information – would be further promoted. On the other hand, apart from its common – and most perceived – role, infotainment seems to be related to the efforts for re-direct the public’s views on one or more key political issues. This fact is highlighted in the study of Rao (2010) where reference is made to the use of infotainment for ‘diverting the attention of the masses from ‘real political issues’ (Rao 2010, p.185); in other words, infotainment can be used in order to give emphasis on particular events and make the public forget or ignore other events, which are usually quite crucial. The specific trend could be identified in the case of the marriage of prince William – a news story evaluated in this paper. By focusing on the specific event, people across Britain have – even partially – ignored the changes in the country’s economic policy – as a result of the global crisis. The specific event has been an exceptional tool for attracting the attention of the public in Britain – making them forgetting – even for a while – the measures introduced by the Government for supporting the national economy. The above activity has two different consequences; at a first point, severe social turbulences – which can lead to economic turbulences – can be avoided; however, from another point of view, people are left unaware of crucial political events or plans, a fact that could set their rights and interests in risks (Rao 2010, p.185). From another point of view, infotainment has influenced the view of the public on criminal justice; reference can be made to the CSI Effect series, which has introduced new practices for handling criminal offences – as these practices are likely to be used by the police when working on such cases (Stevens 2011, p.37). The above fact shows that infotainment can have different aspects, influencing the views of the public on various political and social activities. The specific role of infotainment has been made clearer in the case of celebrities’ crimes. In such cases, infotainment has three distinctive roles: to provide information on the crime committed, to prevent public from developing similar behavior and to entertain – at the level that the crime committed is used as a chance for focusing on the private life of the celebrity involved – for example the case of Lindsay Lohan, as analyzed below. In accordance with Kolker (2009) the key characteristic of infotainment is that the news story on which it focuses is usually of low importance – compared to the time spent on analyzing the events involved (Kolker 2009, p.76). Moreover, it is explained that, finally, the value of the particular story can be even diminished, even if its promotion through the media continues (Kolker 2009, p.76). In accordance with the above view, in infotainment it is not the event itself, which is important, but more the person or persons involved in the event. The fact that these persons are popular to the public makes the reference to the details of their life important, even if there would be no reason for these details to be published, or at least to be given so much attention, as in the cases of the marriage of prince Williams and the sentence of Lindsay Lohan, two stories used as examples for highlighting the form of media infotainment in modern society. 2a. Infotainment and melodramatic reportage in practice – the case of Prince William and the case of Lindsay Lohan The media has extensively promoted the marriage of prince William in 29th of April 2011; in fact, media in Britain and around the world have focused on all details of the particular event from the first moment that the marriage was announced. Even before the event, the references of media to the relationship of prince Williams with Kate Middleton have been continuous and analytical. The establishment of a website where all the details of the event are presented (The Royal Wedding online 2011) leads to the assumption that the persons involved – referring not just to the couple but also to their close relatives – support the high publicity of the marriage; this fact leads to the further assumption that the event has been considered as an appropriate solution for attracting the attention of the British public away from the country’s economic turbulences. On the other hand, the event has given the chance to gather an important sum of money – especially because of the expanded media coverage, meaning not just the day of the marriage but also the whole period of the event’s preparation and the after the marriage period (Lyall 2010, Rayner and Gammell 2011, Davies 2011, The Telegraph 2011, Luscombe 2011). In accordance with a relevant report, the particular event will boost the British economy by 2 billions while job has been also offered to 50,000 people (INU News, 2011); a series of other benefits for the British economy has been also resulted by the above event – for instance the increase in magazines sales (Webb 2011). The review of the relevant articles proves that the reference to certain details of the event, such as the hats of the guests (The Telegraph 2011) would not be valuable – in terms of journalism. The role of infotainment in the above case has been clear: attracting the attention of the British people away from the government’s decisions, gathering funds for supporting various public activities and improving the relationship between the British public and the monarchy. The sentences imposed on Lindsay Lohan in July 2010 and in April 2011 – for two drinking cases in the first case and for violation of probation – by stealing a necklace in January 2011, have been two events extensively promoted by the media (BBC News 2010, Martinez 2011, Celebrity News 2011, Von Glinow 2011, Sky News 2011). Lindsay Lohan is a popular actress; the use of infotainment for publishing the particular events could be explained as follows: at a first level, the events are valuable in terms of the prevention of the public from committing such crimes; also, the events shows the equality in the treatment of individuals by the law, so again, the publication of the sentences imposed on the particular actress is justified. However, it seems that the events have been also used as tools for supporting the actress career – even if it is negative publicity, it is still publicity; in fact, in one of her interviews regarding the particular events, the actress referred to her participation – in the near future – in a film ‘alongside John Travolta’ (Celebrity News 2011). In other words, infotainment in the above case has been used for different reasons – compared to the case of the marriage of prince Williams; this fact reflects the dynamic of infotainment, incorporating many different aspects, but also its flexibility – being able to change its role within a particular social and political framework. 3. Conclusion The expansion of media infotainment and melodramatic reportage in most countries internationally cannot be doubted. In fact, the review of two specific news texts – related to media infotainment – proved that the approach used by journalists when presenting a particular story is highly differentiated compared to the past. Of course, the role of the media infotainment in the increase of publicity of a particular event cannot be doubted. Moreover, under certain terms, media infotainment is the most effective way for attracting the attention of the public; as noted in the study of Dennis et al. (1995) visiting a well known show, like Oprah, would be the most appropriate method for a politician ‘to garner an audience that he could not reach otherwise’ (Dennis et al. 1995, p.178); from this point of view, media infotainment does not threaten journalism. In other words, media infotainment is not necessarily a negative phenomenon; however, its terms should be closely monitored at the level that the rights of the public are not violated. In the media texts analysed in this paper – referring to the marriage of Prince Williams and the sentence of Lindsay Lohan – the role of media infotainment, as a tool for promoting information and entertainment has been made clear. However, the rules on which this activity needs to be based are not easily distinguished; it seems that the content and the principles of media infotainment can be differentiated in accordance with the characteristics of the target audience and the local social ethics and culture. References Aggarwal, V. 2002. Media and society: challenges and opportunities. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company Atkin, D. 2007. Communication technology and social change: theory and implications. London: Routledge Dennis, E., Snyder, R. 1995. Media and public life. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers Kellner, D. 2003. Media spectacle. London: Routledge Kolker, R. 2009. Media Studies: An Introduction. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons Lange, Y. 1999. Media and elections: handbook. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Papathanassopoulos, S. 2011. Media Perspectives for the 21st Century. Oxon: Taylor & Francis Rao, U. 2010. News As Culture: Journalistic Practices and the Remaking of Indian Leadership Tradition. Oxford: Berghahn Books Stevens, D. 2011. Media and criminal justice: the CSI effect. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning Thussu, D. 2007. News as entertainment: the rise of global infotainment. London: SAGE Online Sources A. Lindsay Lohan’s sentence BBC News. July 7, 2010. Lindsay Lohan in tears over 90 day jail sentence. Available from < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10534097> Celebrity News. April 26, 2011. Lindsay Lohan: New Jail Sentence Left Me "Numb". Available from < http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/lindsay-lohan-new-jail-sentence-left-me-numb-2011264> Martinez, E. April 25, 2011. Lindsay Lohan angry over jail sentence, says report. CBS News. Available from < http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20056970-504083.html> Sky News. April 27, 2011. Lindsay Lohan Admits Shock At Jail Sentence. Available from < http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Video-Lindsay-Lohan-Appears-On-Tonight-Show-Admitting-Her-Mistakes-After-Jail-Sentence/Article/201104415980294> Von Glinow, K. April 25, 2011. Lindsay Lohan's Sentence: To Stare Death in the Eye. Available from Winton, R. May 12, 2011.Lindsay Lohan gets 120 days in theft of necklace. Los Angeles Times. Available from < http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/12/local/la-me--lindsaylohan-20110512> B. Prince William’s marriage Davies, C. April 29, 2011. Royal wedding: A stylish marriage for William and Kate. The Guardian. Available from < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-william-kate-marriage> INU News. April 29, 2011. William-Kate Wedding Day Influences the Economy Condition. Available from < http://www.inunews.com/william-kate-wedding-day-influences-economy-condition/4179.html> Luscombe, B. April 29, 2011. 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Available from < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/8447681/Royal-Wedding-of-Prince-William-and-Kate-Middleton-will-boost-magazine-sales-says-Smiths-News.html> Read More