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Q. With the line between news and entertainment blurring, do you think infotainment is diluting the substance of journalism, or is it a necessary adaptation to capture audience interest in a fast-paced world?
A. The die was cast quite some time back, when tech replaced/ complemented authentic readers of content to be an algorithm-based trendspotting/ pattern recognition and predictive modelling of human behaviour. The introduction of anthropomorphism has only multiplied this trend.
Your observation of blurred line of news and entertainment is so valid— news channels, digital platforms like Meta, WhatsApp, YouTube, paid content, lack of investment in quality content, etc have contributed to this realisation. The real casualty is the ‘TRUST QUOTIENT’ of news content generators, and in a creator economy, they are available dime a dozen.
The unfortunate part is that from non-news platforms, entertainment/ timepass might be a dominant logic of consuming their content, but for pure-play news platforms, the blurred line of news and entertainment will only erode the credibility quotient of news.