1)
Define infotainment, privatization, and personalization in your own words, and give examples of each.
3)
What gives the concepts that Jebril, et al develop in their article credibility, authority, and explanatory power? How is what they are doing different from the type of social commentary that you hear on TV or in blog posts?
10)
LWT is itself an example of infotainment. In what ways does it match the description provided by Jebril, et al, and in what ways does it diverge from it?
12)
Today's reading was an example of social science, which combines both qualitative/descriptive and quantitative/numerical analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative research require framing-- qualitative research through the useful labeling and description of observable phenomena, quantitative research through the isolation of variables (which is itself a form of description). Students often find social sciences difficult or too subjective because, unlike the physical sciences, there are no foundational laws that allow scientists to make big universal generalizations. There are no silver bullet arguments in the social sciences because human behavior is not reducible to a singular mechanical force like gravity. The best that social scientists like sociologists, economists, and psychologists can hope to do is to look at complex systems and try to identify trends that can then be put to use for policy-making, social organization, interpersonal management, and city planning. What are the media trends that the authors of the study have identified, and what impact could understanding these trends have on public policy and social organization?
13)
What gives the concepts that they develop in their article credibility, authority, and explanatory power? How is what they are doing different from the type of social commentary that you hear on TV or in blog posts?
14)
Nael Jebril, Erik Albaek, and Claes H de Vreese claim that increased privatization in political coverage is correlated to increased cynicism, while increased personalization in political coverage results in more episodic reporting that discourages holistic views of political institutions. If that is the effect on how politics is covered, how might coverage of scientific studies or science-related political issues (for example, climate change) be affected? (Infotainment includes satirical news shows, topical morning shows, many podcasts and talk radio shows, and news commentary programs on Fox, CNN, Newsmax, MSNBC, and Youtube.)
15)
Though infotainment shows are sometimes thoroughly-researched and fact-checked, the subject matter is often presented by an entertainer. For example, Last Week Tonight covers science and social issues, but the presenter, John Oliver, is a professional comedian with an obvious political slant). What is the situation of address (the relationship between the writer/speaker and the audience) for infotainment shows? How do infotainment shows attempt to establish credibility?