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Diversity of Journalisms. Proceedings of ECREA/CICOM Conference, Pamplona, 4-5 July 2011
Conceptual relationships
1. Mobile Infotainment
The term Infotainment comes from a neologism resulted by the union of the words
information and entertainment, and came during the 1980's, gaining notoriety in late
1990 and was used internationally by professionals and academia. It refers to the
specialty of journalism and editorial only directed to information and entertainment. Its
articulation and reproduction are associated with many social and cultural
responsibilities. Its editorial content is attached to the seriousness, lightness, accuracy
and ethics, reporting data in all genres of journalism, while entertaining and distracting
the reader.
The infotainment sees the information as an enjoyable experience, working as a safety
valve that can relieve stress and promote relaxation as a form of leisure time.
Currently, this is the kind of journalism that comes closest to the wishes of society and
therefore information is consolidated by providing news that fit these characteristics,
which both inform and be accessible to everyone.
It should, however, take into account two factors, as we said Aguado and Martinez
(2009): firstly, mobile devices physical conditions (size and screen terminal, interface
type, autonomy) impose a limited attention conditions and specific perception and
interaction. Second, conditions of use are also imposed by the limited time
(displacement related to portability, etc.). In addition, there is also the competition with
other external factors of attention (disruption of the environment) over long periods of
time.
Consequently, unlike the mobile entertainment social interaction (SMS and Chat), the
mobile entertainment related to informational content such as newsgames are
represented by small formats, subject to fragmentation, storage, retrieval and
serialization usable for short periods of time (no more than 20-30 minutes) and linked
to posting and management of downtime.
Otherwise the mobile infotainment horizon specifically includes the combined
possibilities of Internet, TV and game consoles (videos, pictures, blogs, series, songs,
ringtones, games, etc.) together with the other leisure uses associated to the
production and distribution of infotainment contents.
2 The culture of mobility as a criterion for newsworthiness
Mobility and ubiquity are two representative elements about the role that mobile
technologies currently represent in different informational formats, such as
newsgames. The results of this cross results in the emergence of various operating
and reporting practices more consistent with the urban space and the navigation
through cyberspace. To Santaella (2008), we need to rethink this relationship, having
the urban space as a result of mobility established and driven by mobile devices.
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