Infotainment of U.S. News Media Essay Example for Free

Infotainment of U.S. News Media Essay The current type of news media in the United States, dubbed as infotainment, wherein soft journalism is preferred over hard news, further stains the reputation of what is regarded as the â€Å"Fourth State† or one of the influential bodies in American society. This is because this kind of coverage does not offer serious reporting of events and hard facts, but sensationalized news about the lives of personalities, crime, and other less realistic stories. It is unfortunate to note that infotainment has made American media more comfortable with embellishing hard news primarily because it is what the public wants and what the public needs. Under the disguise and with misleading purpose of an energized print sales and broadcast ratings, infotainment is such a blooper which actually further escalates the worsening level of news media public. At the same time, it damages more the involvement and knowledge of the readers and viewers. In short, the existing nature of American news media weakens the quality of reporting and credibility of broadcast and print media companies, pushes further their respective public, and is detrimental to the nations democracy. Due the tight competition within the industry, American news media is now tied up to meet income expectations, resulting in a quality sacrifice and economic operation demands that dictate the choices of news content and compromise the managements operations. This transformation in the industrys mode has promoted a second thought of industry standards. This leaves the profession into the hands of new era of media practitioners who are less committed to the existing journalism code of ethics. These new breed have actually portrayed themselves as famous personalities moonlighting as journalists or news reporters. Ultimately, it is both the news organizations and American public which are to be blame for this sickening and continued reporting that focuses on personalities and other forms of entertainment rather than the essence or content of a news event. This is because no media company would practice infotainment if it will not click with the audience. However, it is not yet too late to save the news media industry. What it can do is for it to keep abreast and take advantage of the technological advancements within the industry such as the accessibility of satellite television or cable system and availability of World Wide Web or Internet. American media should utilize these technological improvements by not sensationalizing or resorting to what is called the â€Å"yellow journalism. † Instead, it should advance its cause and primary goal which is to present to the public a balance, fair, and fearless news reporting.