Inform and entertain are part of the core objectives of the media (newspapers, radio, television, Internet). Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish what the primary goal of a certain content, for instance, on television. What is the difference between the role of television news host and an entertainment television host? How can we distinguish between a journalistic content and entertainment content?
Some tips can help.
Some tips can help.
Let's see the examples:
1: Information: excerpt from TV news
TV news is a journalistic news television broadcast. It is a collection of news, developed by several journalists and presented by a host, the anchor.
In the example, the main goal is to inform the public about the findings of a climate summit, which brought together several countries. In order to inform, in a reasoned and rigorous manner, the journalist's principal function is to transform current information that is relevant to the society in question. To do so, (s) he collects, writes, edits and only then publishes the information.
Throughout this process, the journalist is guided by rules (a code of ethics) that require, for instance, to always check the information collected through various sources, and to be impartial, that is to say, not to defend one “side of the story”.
Throughout this process, the journalist is guided by rules (a code of ethics) that require, for instance, to always check the information collected through various sources, and to be impartial, that is to say, not to defend one “side of the story”.
2: Entertainment
On television, entertainment is highly valued, since it is the type of programme that captures the attention of a wider audience. In programmes like those in the example, distraction media are favoured. The goal is to entertain and hold the public's attention, which is achieved using humour, spectacular images or appealing to emotion.
The opinion article, a gender present in the example above, has the following characteristics:
3: Infotainment
There is also media content, as the example shows, which combines the characteristics of information and entertainment. The cartoon series “Amigos do Ambiente” (“Friends of the Environment”) is an “infotainment” programme. This type of programme is based on relevant, sometimes complex, information and displays it in a simple and attractive way to reach a larger number of people. Each episode of “Amigos do Ambiente” (“Friends of the Environment”) is a story about an environment-related topic. This particular episode, for instance, addresses the importance of using public transport.
In conclusion:
In conclusion:
Journalism
- Objective: to inform;
- Use objectivity and rigour;
- Performed by journalists who follow the rules of the profession;
- Deals with serious issues of importance to society.
Entertainment
- Objective: to distract;
- Use sibjectivity and emotion;
- Performed by television professionals who are not journalists;
- Can use humour;
- Deals with soft issues.
Infotainment
- Objective: to inform and entertain;
- Use rigour, but also appeal to emotion and subjectivity;
- Can use humour;
- Deals with serious issues of importance to society.
Sources:
Alves, Daniela (2013); Infoentretenimento nos Programas Televisivos O caso das estações televisivas portuguesas, Universidade da Beira Interior. Available: http://ubibliorum.ubi.pt/bitstream/10400.6/1602/1/Daniela%20Alves.pdf
Nascimento, Vanderson (2010); Entretenalismo: Quando o humor se torna notícia, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra. Available: https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/bitstream/10316/18153/1/TESE_ENTRETENALISMO_FINAL.pdf
This tip was elaborated under the initiative “7 X Média” inserted in the “Operação 7 Dias com os Média” (“Operation 7 Days with the Media”), organised by the Grupo Informal sobre Literacia para os Média (GLIM-Informal Group on Literacy for the Media) of the University of Minho, and is part of a set of good practices related to the use of the media, for teachers to use in the classroom with students.
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