Infotainment

Infotainment is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of information and entertainment. The term can also refer to the hardware/software products and systems which are built into, or can be added to vehicles in order to enhance driver and/or passenger experience. According to many dictionaries, infotainment is always television, and the term is "mainly disapproving". However, many self-described infotainment websites exist, which provide a variety of functions and services, many of which include the several increasingly popular social media websites and applications being used daily by billions of users worldwide.

The label "infotainment" is emblematic of concern and criticism that journalism is devolving from a medium which conveys serious information about issues affecting public interest, into a form of entertainment which happens to have fresh "facts" in the mix. The criteria by which reporters and editors judge news value—whether something is worth putting on the front page, the bottom of the hour, or is worth commenting on at all—are integral parts of this debate. Some blame the media for this perceived phenomenon, for failing to live up to ideals of civic journalistic responsibility, while others blame the commercial nature of many media organizations, the need for higher ratings, combined with a preference among the public for feel-good content and "unimportant" topics such as celebrity gossip or sports. In a critique of infotainment, Bonnie Anderson of News Flash cited a CNN lead story on February 2, 2004 following the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast on national television. The follow-up story was about a ricin chemical attack on then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

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