Gloria Steinhem, Infotainment, Media

Money, Lies and the Awful Truth A Contemporary Analysis of Infotainment

"The art of printing secures us against the retrogradation of reason and information." When Thomas Jefferson said this in 1811 I doubt he could have envisioned publisher and media critic Gloria Steinem's article Sex, Lies and Advertising. Giving a contemporary overview of the eroding mainstream free press in America, Steinem addresses the issues of common women's stereotypes in advertising, the concept of infotainment/soft journalism and questions if American publishing is truly free. To tackle the questions Steinem raises one must first ask what constitutes journalism? Many traditional writers feel that only "hard" stories such as foreign affairs and the economy are newsworthy. Others feel that "cultures" stories and stories on the humanities are just as newsworthy. Adding to the distinction between journalists, anchors and reporters are "human interest", personality, or celebrity gossip that is usually produced or written in conjunction with marketing firms based on a publication's demographic and audience interest. Adding to the confusion is the fact that certain writers themselves become famous and can be considered celebrities thus making their stories automatically newsworthy. Steinem focuses much of her attention on the zeitgeist of advertising agencies and the then emerging trend of infotainment.

While it's hard to formulate an exact definition of Infotainment it's commonly accepted as a work of journalism that entertains while combining advertising and information. Common examples of publications that participate in this are Car and Driver, Cosmopolitan and Golf Digest. While these three magazines have a completely different readership and serve different purposes all attract advertisers based on the articles they publish. For example in the October issue of Car and Driver an article about Lamborghini Mercialago appeared touting it as one of the fastest production cars available. Coincidentally on the space next to it was an advertisement for K&N high performance exhaust systems. The same is true of Golf Digest which regularly features articles on golf swing improvement and places advertisements for golf balls nearby. Subconsciously this indicates to the reader that the product being advertised is necessary. Interestingly the perceived need for a product stems from information attained in a nearby article. Steinem refuses to participate in this act called complementary copy and thus loses out on sales. "As the only women's magazine that didn't supply what the ad world euphemistically describes as "supportive editorial atmosphere" or "complementary copy"Ð'.... Ms. could never attract enough advertising to break even" (141). She then goes on and states "our lack of recipes is lethal" (130). Unfortunately the publishing industry has caved into the demands of the advertisers making complementary copy an implied part of most advertising contracts. Many magazines and newspapers have made the transition from being primarily comprised of controversial editorials and hard news; to becoming the "supportive editorial atmosphere" that advertisers demand, running a few articles in the process. This becomes problematic because it sets a precedent that advertisers have ultimate editorial and creative control in publications.

Today the idea of complementary copy is being thrown away for new and more effective types of marketing. As our society continues to become exposed and jaded towards traditional means of advertising, companies must create new ways to reach the consumer. One of the more prevalent techniques is the advertorial now called the special advertising section or SAS as it's known in the publishing circle. By creating a multi-page spread that has the appearance of an article the reader is often duped into reading a sales pitch. Quite often an SAS is a hard thing to spot, the most recent incarnations use official looking headings and celebrity or well known authors to gain legitimacy. In the September issue of PC Magazine Microsoft runs an 8 page special report on the benefits of the upcoming Windows Vista. Packaged as a review and appearing like an article the only way to differentiate it from real magazine content is the words Special Advertisement in 6 point font at the top of the page. Special Advertising Sections aren't limited to technology magazines however, Popular Photography recently published