Other Definitions
infotainment (dict)
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InfotainmentInfotainment (a portmanteau word formed from information and entertainment), also known as soft news, provides information in a way that is entertaining to its viewers. The information in infotainment programming consists of mostly celebrity news and human drama. News versus journalism Journalists see a distinction between news and journalism. Where journalism is a profession with widely understood standards of integrity, "news" or "the news business" is seen as a trade with only practical guidelines for operation, which do not necessarily cooperate with higher journalistic ethics. Journalists may tend to view the news trade as one that depends directly on the skills and ethics of journalists for its existence, while maintaining few of the same standards. Whereas, "news" is "impact"-based, and depends largely on the presence of a video camera for its news value, journalism is research-based, and dependent on fact-checking and corroboration before reporting the story. The popularity of impact-based reporting is thought by some journalists to have had a divisive effect on the news profession. Others see the lines as well-defined and therefore not material, regardless if the public sees these lines as clear or not. Entertainment and news crossovers When Geraldo Rivera became an MSNBC News correspondent and host of his own political talk show, others within the NBC organization voiced their protest, including Tom Brokaw who was reported to have threatened to quit. Rivera had a notorious history as a "sleaze reporter" and daytime talk-show host, where he and one or two others were representative of "trash TV"; television seen to have little social value or redeeming intelligence, but still popular with viewers. A particular example is of the career of Andrea Thompson, formerly an actress on Babylon 5 and NYPD Blue, who quit acting to become a reporter for KRQE News in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and was later hired by CNN Headline News. She later quit CNN, citing a desire to spend more time with her son. Some speculated that others at CNN resented the presence of the former actress, and had some degree of influence on her decision to quit. Others have made the jump between entertainment shows and news reporting.
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