Infotainment is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of information and entertainment.
The term infotainment was popular by media critics such as Neil Postman, who critically questioned television. In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death (Postman, 1985), Postman asserts that television transforms the rational public discourse, that every subject – politics, culture, education, etc. – appears as an emotionalized, superficial entertainment. The political election campaign was no longer a serious discourse about the content, but similar to a large variety event. Through this process Postman is destroying one of the most important achievements of the Education: the ability to make rational judgments; A development which, according to Postman, breaks down the foundations of democracy and leads to a new nonage.
NEWS, I’m Lovin’ It
Media installation, LIVE TV NEWS
In NEWS, I’m lovin’ it, five television news stations broadcasting their own breaking news simultaneously. The sound turns to a pulpy (sound).
Loogie.net TV – Be the First to Know!
Interactive online news channel
Loogie.net TV shows you the latest world news about the subjects you choose. By putting in keywords with a special remote control or by SMS you can determine which subjects will be shown on television and you will be presented with news fit to your specifications. Additionally, in a second step your TV program can be narrowed down and focused on your own main areas of interest. The content of the broadcast is searched in real-time on the internet and is seamlessly transitioned by the Loogie.net software.
Loogie.net TV is highly unusual in that it offers broadcasts compiled solely by computer algorithms without human intervention.
Breaking the News – Be a News-Jockey
Interactive net-based multi screen installation
Just tell us a headline or your favorite words and we’ll create a modifiable streaming news-station for you. Breaking The News is an interactive installation, transmitting in realtime information from the internet. The user becomes a live performer, a News-Jockey.
Friends ask: Could you help me to cook up a news that I’ll like? Those questions often evolved into great conversations. Friends told us their favorite headlines, and we in turn created new stories. Everybody started joking that we were now their personal News-Jockeys. We created “Breaking The News” so that we can have that same kind of conversation with you.
The Show Must Go On. Social Media Fights for the Presidency!
Online News Channel
The Show Must Go On by Marc Lee captures the circulation flow and momentum of the social media-fueled campaign, exaggerating it to the point where it tips into a theatre of the absurd. The online work filters the most recent Twitter, Instagram and Youtube messages that mention terms like “Clinton”, “Trump” or “US Election”, weaving them into a wild TV show. A new version of Lee’s TV-Bot (2004). The Show Must Go On was specially created for the US elections. The original version was designed as an Internet news service that grabbed its content from more traditional TV and radio channels. Its sole principle was that of novelty. Additionally, what counts today is the ‘Likes’ and ‘Retweets’ that migrate across the screen as stars (Clinton) and hearts (Trump), fighting for the presidency. Whatever the ending of the show, it will be historical – and it will be just the beginning.