Breaking News?

Politics, Journalism, and Infotainment on Quebec Television

In the thousand-channel universe, politicians must find innovative ways to reach citizens via television. The rise of programming that blends information with entertainment – infotainment – on Canadian television, especially in Quebec, has provided an opportunity for today’s politicians to use it to their advantage. But their appearances on these programs also fuel concerns regarding the declining authority of journalism in the public sphere. Breaking News? traces the development of infotainment and exposes the impact of these kinds of programs on modern political communication. Frédérick Bastien questions if infotainment trivializes political discourse and lacks gravitas when dealing with weighty subjects, and if it will come to replace hard news programming. And why, although journalists may criticize politicians’ appearances on these programs, they themselves choose to appear on them regardless. This book lays out the implications of infotainment for politicians who must adjust to this form of media, for citizens who can’t rely on the codes of ethics that have conventionally guided the production of news programs, and for journalists who must reassert their unique role in democratic society. He argues that, ultimately, infotainment makes a positive contribution to democratic life by piquing the audience’s interest in public affairs and motivating them to pay more attention to political news in general.