Money, Lies and the Awful Truth a Contemporary Analysis of Infotainment

Money, Lies and the Awful Truth A Contemporary Analysis of Infotainment

"The art of printing secures us against the retrogradation of reason and information." When Thomas Jefferson said this in 1811 I doubt he could have envisioned publisher and media critic Gloria Steinem's article Sex, Lies and Advertising. Giving a contemporary overview of the eroding mainstream free press in America, Steinem addresses the issues of common women's stereotypes in advertising, the concept of infotainment/soft journalism and questions if American publishing is truly free. To tackle the questions Steinem raises one must first ask what constitutes journalism? Many traditional writers feel that only "hard" stories such as foreign affairs and the economy are newsworthy. Others feel that "cultures" stories and stories on the humanities are just as newsworthy. Adding to the distinction between journalists, anchors and reporters are "human interest", personality, or celebrity gossip that is usually produced or written in conjunction with marketing firms based on a publication's demographic and audience interest. Adding to the confusion is the fact that certain writers themselves become famous and can be considered celebrities thus making their stories automatically newsworthy. Steinem focuses much of her attention on the zeitgeist of advertising agencies and the then emerging trend of infotainment.

While it's hard to formulate an exact definition of Infotainment it's commonly accepted as a work of journalism that entertains while combining advertising and information.