The precursors of infotainment? Debate and talk shows on Televisión Española (1980-1989)

The theory formulated to date indicates that political infotainment programs arrived in Spain in a widespread manner in the 1990s with the rise of private television channels. But were there spaces in public television that shared the traits of this novel television genre before that time? This article is aimed at analyzing debate and talk shows, as well as hybrid format shows combining both genres, broadcasted on Televisión Española (TVE-1 and TVE-2) during the ‘80s, in order to determine whether or not these programs present the emblematic style characteristic of infotainment. The methodology consists of a content analysis of a total of 31 television programs, each of which was viewed on the RTVE archive using different multimedia platforms. The results of this research reveal that Televisión Española incorporated into its debate shows, talk shows, and hybrid format shows, features typical of infotainment prior to the ‘90s. Among the most recurrent stylistic features of these programs are the tendency to dramatization, polemic and emotionality (achieved through different techniques and strategies), an increase of soft content, a greater presence of satire, humor and close-ups, and the use of music.

Media i dziennikarze w czasach pandemii COVID-19. Na przykładzie olsztyńskim

The outbreak of the pandemic in the first months of 2020 significantly affected the social, political and economic life of Poles. It also substantially impacted the media and journalists themselves who, following the “infodemy” – the initial confusion caused by the excess of information – gradually shifted their focus towards informing about the statistics of illnesses, the situation in hospitals, the restrictions imposed by the government or on the unfreezing of subsequent segments of the economy. The purpose of this article is to show how the changes related to the pandemic and the resulting significant restrictions in communication have affected the content of news programs, the functioning of the media and the journalistic environment in Olsztyn. The analysis covered activities of the regional public television, TVP3 Olsztyn. Selected results of own and published research were presented.

Actual and Perceived Knowledge About COVID-19: The Role of Information Behavior in Media

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a health threat that has dominated media coverage. However, not much is known about individual media use to acquire knowledge about COVID-19. To address this open research question, this study investigated how the perceived threat is linked to media use and how media use is associated with perceived and actual knowledge about COVID-19. In a German online survey conducted between April 16 and April 27, 2020, N = 952 participants provided information on their perceived threat and media use to inform themselves about COVID-19. In this process, they indicated how well they were informed about COVID-19 (perceived knowledge) and subsequently completed a COVID-19 knowledge test (actual knowledge). Results indicated that individuals who felt more threatened by COVID-19 used media more often to inform themselves (b = 0.20, p < 0.001) but focused on fewer different media channels (b = 0.01, p < 0.001). Further, frequent media use was associated with higher perceived knowledge (b = 0.47, p < 0.001), but not with higher actual knowledge about COVID-19 (b = −0.01, p = 0.938), reflecting an illusion of knowledge. Additionally, using fewer media channels was linked to higher perceived (b = 2.21, p < 0.001) and actual knowledge (b = 2.08, p = 0.008). Finally, explorative analyses on the use of different media channels revealed that an illusion of knowledge emerged for using social media, public television, and newspapers. Potential explanations for the findings and implications for future research are discussed.

KOMODIFIKASI SIARAN OLAHRAGA DI TELEVISI PUBLIK: STUDI KASUS LIGA PRIMER INGGRIS DI LPP TVRI

Sport and media have a long history of mutually beneficial relationship. Sport has become a commodity. Private televisions use sport programs to gain more profits through various methods, such as advertising and paid subscription. The potential benefits that media can gain from sport have driven the competition between broadcasters to get the broadcasting rights and thus drive the broadcasting rights fees higher every season. In 2019, TVRI with limited annual budget can acquire English Premier League broadcasting rights through partnership with Mola TV. TVRI as a public service broadcaster is not allowed to be profit-oriented like private televisions. This article investigates commodification of sport in Indonesian public television, TVRI, with study case of English Premier League. Data are collected from literature study and observation, then it is analyzed from a political economy perspective. It is found that TVRI use English Premier League to gain more audiences and profits through various sport programs - similar to private televisions, but with some limitations that public television has.

A Few Bad Apples or the Logic of Capitalism?

This article investigates how neoliberal globalization has been mediated through audiovisual narratives since the 2000s. It identifies a cluster of films, produced by and circulating on German public television, which use the generic conventions of the popular crime genre to constitute a sub-genre—the televisual economic crime drama. Using a content and textual analysis that focuses on the backdrop of historical context and genre norms, the article examines key tropes to assess the critical potential of this sub-genre. The analysis demonstrates that both the containment theme of “a few bad apples” and a systemic critique can structure these narratives of neoliberalism. At its best, the televisual economic crime drama argues that alternatives to neoliberalism are possible by referencing Germany’s history of the social market economy and by featuring characters as well as images of active citizenship, solidarity, and collective action in the workplace.

Telling Holocaust Jokes on German Public Television

Since 2015, Israeli-born German artist Shahak Shapira has initiated several satirical campaigns targeting antisemitism and racism in Germany and the country’s relation to the Holocaust. These interventions set Shapira’s career in motion, and in 2019 he landed a slot on the ZDF public broadcasting channel for the talk show Shapira Shapira. The show mocked antisemitism and far-right movements in Germany and reminded the viewers of the country’s history with Jews. His jokes about concentration camps and their contemporary perceptions proved to be especially effective. This article shows how Shahak Shapira and his show challenged the official narratives about Jews, antisemitism and the Holocaust. It argues that Shapira’s jokes might empower Jews and foster Holocaust awareness among the general public in Germany.

New Zealand Public Television, Public Service and Everything in Between: The Success and Struggles of New Zealand on Air and Public Television

<p>This thesis explores the contemporary situation of 'public television' in New Zealand. As this country’s longest-standing, most significant facilitator of the diverse range of locally-produced programmes that pursue the 'cultural identity' objectives that are regarded as centrally important to 'public television', the focus of this thesis will be on the role and contributions of public broadcast funding agency, New Zealand on Air. This focus has three main functions in this thesis, allowing it to: first, investigate the necessity of facilitating and producing 'public television'; second, to explore the successful ways in which this element of television has been delivered to viewers; and third, to examine the limitations posed by a highly commercial broadcast television environment on the pursuit of 'public television' objectives. This undertaking is important because 'public television' faces a number of significant challenges in New Zealand, the most significant of which is inadequate public investment. Other challenges can be sourced to the intense competition and inadequate regulation of New Zealand television, which is a consequence of the deregulation and restructuring that it was subjected to in 1988-89. In the decades since, the broader environmental conditions encouraged by these changes have never been redressed. Presently, despite 'public television' fulfilling vital cultural functions, its situation has reached a crisis point, emphatically in regard to provisions for 'mainstream' broadcast audiences. For this reason, there needs to be an in-depth exploration of the issues and potentials in 'public television', to which this thesis aims to contribute. The exploration that this thesis offers is structured in three chapters. The first examines the establishment and role of New Zealand on Air. The second addresses the ways in which 'public television' programmes are successfully facilitated through the considerations and funding allocations of NZoA. The third considers the limitations of New Zealand’s television environment on the pursuit of 'public television' and argues the necessity for enhanced resources to be provided in order to improve the current situation.</p>