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Breaking News?

Politics, Journalism, and Infotainment on Quebec Television

Frédérick Bastien author Käthe Roth translator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of British Columbia Press

Published:15th Jan '18

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Breaking News? cover

The first book about politics and infotainment in Canada, Breaking News? examines the challenges of these (often) controversial programs for democratic citizenship.

In the thousand-channel universe, politicians must find innovative ways to reach citizens via television. Viewership for news and current affairs television programs has dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, 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 over 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 lays out the issues raised by the eroding influence of existing news gatekeepers and the implications of infotainment for politicians, journalists, and citizens, while arguing that infotainment ultimately makes a positive contribution to democratic life by piquing the audience’s interest in public affairs and motivating it to pay more attention to political news in general.

ISBN: 9780774836821

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 480g

236 pages