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

Do We Live in a World of Media Infotainment And Melodramatic Reportage - Essay Example 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 technol ogies 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... This essay approves that 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 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. This phenomenon is more intense in developed countries – where the fund s invested on media advertising are quite high. This report makes a conclusion that 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.