Editing Infotainment (section)

== Criticism ==
Most infotainment television programs on [[Television network|networks]] and broadcast cable only contain general information on the subjects they cover and may not be considered to have high levels of substantive informational value.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lehman-Wilzig|first1=Sam N.|last2=Seletzky|first2=Michal|date=2010-02-01|title=Hard news, soft news, 'general' news: The necessity and utility of an intermediate classification|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884909350642|journal=Journalism|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|pages=37–56|doi=10.1177/1464884909350642|s2cid=145451919|issn=1464-8849|url-access=subscription}}</ref> For example, an infotainment broadcast may frame [[Criminal accusation|accusations]] of a celebrity or other individual committing a crime as a reality, with no verifiable factual support or evidence of such claims. Some disapprove of infotainment media, especially TV and cable, because it "seem[s] to hurtle from one event to another, often dwelling on trivial, celebrity-driven content."<ref>Campbell, R., Martin, R. C, and Fabos, B. G. Media & culture: An introduction to [[mass communication]]. Bedford/St.Martin's, 2012</ref>

Today's broadcasting of what is considered "hard" informative news is sometimes diluted with attributes of fiction or drama, and infotainment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Graber|first=Doris A.|date=1994-10-01|title=The Infotainment Quotient in Routine Television News: A Director's Perspective|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926594005004004|journal=Discourse & Society|language=en|volume=5|issue=4|pages=483–508|doi=10.1177/0957926594005004004|s2cid=145289321|issn=0957-9265|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Some argue that a catalyst for this may be the acquisition of major news networks by conglomerates primarily based in the entertainment business (e.g. Viacom‐Paramount owned CBS News; ABC News has been part of the Disney corporation since 1996; CNN is a key constituent of Time‐Warner, Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, one of the world's biggest media conglomerates).<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last=Thussu|first=Daya Kishan|title=Infotainment|date=2015|encyclopedia=The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication|pages=1–9|publisher=American Cancer Society|language=en|doi=10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc152|isbn=978-1-118-54155-5|doi-access=free}}</ref> The ownership structure can be traced using infotainment. For example, there may be an infotainment story on celebrities that are involved in the making of a movie produced by the news channel's parent company.

=== Public critique ===
In October 2010 at the [[Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear]], American political satirist [[Jon Stewart]] made a metaphorical statement regarding the media today: "The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems . . . illuminating issues heretofore unseen, or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous flaming ant epidemic." This statement referred to the news media's ability to focus in on the real problems of people, and transform them into infotainment that is publicized to entertain, possibly exacerbating the issue at the same time. 

In a critique of infotainment, Bonnie Anderson of ''News Flash'' cited a [[Cable News Network|CNN]] lead story on February 2, 2004 following the [[Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy|exposure of Janet Jackson's breast]] on national television. The follow-up story was about a [[ricin]] chemical attack on then-[[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] [[United States Senate Majority Leader|Majority Leader]] [[Bill Frist]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Bonnie M.|title=News Flash|date=2004|publisher=Wiley|pages=1, 33}}</ref>