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INFOTAINMENT: A SOURCE OF POLITICAL EFFICACY AND PARTICIPATION


By Georges Azouri
Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Trevor Noah. These are all household names of television hosts on shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Both shows are infotainment programs that inform their viewers on current news and entertain them in a satirical way. While there is great comedic value provided by these programs, there is even greater value to the political culture of the United States.
Infotainment programs are not new, rather the influence they can have on an audience is new. Shows like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report share news stories and often political stories in a satirical manner. In doing so these programs are still educating audiences on politics even if it may be skewed. Political efficacy is the belief that one is able to strongly influence politics and usually is tied to political participation. A study done on adolescents showed that, “nontraditional sources of political information on television (late-night comedy) increases adolescents’ internal political efficacy, which in turn positively predicts their civic participation” (Hoffman and Thomson, 2009). In just viewing these shows, members of the audience not only gather information on current news but also begin to have greater confidence in how they can influence politics.
The audience that is most likely watching these satirical programs are adolescents and young adults. This demographic is also historically associated among the lowest in election turnouts in the United States. The entertainment value of these programs is what mainly draws audiences, all while reporting on politics. Therefore, there is a benefit that these programs have in increasing political awareness among young Americans.


Not only is there increased political efficacy but increased participation by those who view late night infotainment programs. Another study showed that, “viewership of The Daily Show/The Colbert Report had a positive effect on political participation” (Baumgartner and Lockerbie, 2018). It is fascinating that infotainment programs are able to have such an impact when that is not the intent of the programs. Political participation has a broad meaning but in terms of the study conducted it was related to voting and increased voting numbers among audience viewers.
Infotainment programs have also been on the rise leading up to the 2016 Election where the focus of all the jokes and content came from the campaign of Donald Trump. New programs with hosts like John Oliver and Samantha Bee came about leading up to the election. The influence of these programs also spread to other late night talk shows that dedicate segments or whole shows to politics and satire (Baumgartner and Lockerbie, 2018).

As the 2020 Election begins to take shape in the next year, expect infotainment programs to begin shifting content towards the election. Until there is a clear Democratic candidate most of the content will more than likely be shifted towards President Trump as that was the focus in 2016. It is too early now to predict what kind of voter turnout is expected in these upcoming elections, but infotainment programs will be there every step of the way. And as evidence suggests, infotainment will have some impact on political efficacy and participation.
References
Baumgartner, J.C., & Lockerbie, B. (2018). Maybe it is more than a joke: Satire, mobilization, and political participation. Social Science Quarterly, 99, 1060-1074.
Hoffman, L., Thomson, T. (2009). The effect of television viewing on adolescents’ civic participation: Political efficacy as a mediating mechanism. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 53, 3-21.
Hoskinson, J. [The Colbert Report]. (2011, August 4). Colbert super PAC- The heroes respond [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.cc.com/video-clips/7ahjkr/the-colbert -report-colbert-super-pac---the-heroes-respond

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Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2018 at 6:28 PM

    Georges, good start, but there's still room for improvement.

    Remember, our house style is normal-sized Helvetica. Additionally, make sure you space-down your byline, or you'll have the first letter capitalized. That's an easy fix.

    You should also consider using myself, your group members, or the style guide for reference on inserting a video clip. Bloggers format caters to inserting content directly into the post; save everyone a step and post the video directly into the post going forward.

    Beyond that, while it's perfectly acceptable to paraphrase, be sure to indicate you are doing so. It's unclear what section of paragraph 5 is an assertion taken from the author, or your own idea.

    I'd disagree with your point "It is fascinating that infotainment programs are able to have such an impact [mobilize viewers] when that is not the intent of the programs." Occasionally, this is there intent beyond just entertainment value. Look at such pieces as Stephen Colbert's super PAC, or more recently, John Oliver's Mike Pence piece.

    Thanks for taking up political satire as a theme week, as I've said before, the multiple functions satire can serve is the subject of my seminar for this year. Specifically, the way programming a la John Stewart can work as alternative media.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KHOctober 5, 2018 at 9:30 AM

    George.

    I want to echo David's comments and suggestions. First and foremost, you and your team should make certain each and every post conforms to our house style.

    In addition, I'd ask you to work on clarifying some of your writing. For instance, your discussion of young people and voter participation is important, but awkwardly stated.

    Substantively, David's point is well taken. Indeed, political satirists aren't simply or only looking for laughs. Amber Day (2011) makes a compelling case for the seriousness of this form of political communication.

    Finally, I'm delighted you located and made use of two academic sources. You can make more productive use of Hoffman & Thompson if you briefly define their key concepts: efficacy and participation.

    All told, then, this is a good start. With a bit more care and clarity, you've got the makings of a fine cultural critic.

    26/30 pts.

    ReplyDelete

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