Los Angeles | In-Person

Is Infotainment Good for Political Journalism?

A Zócalo/ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Event
Moderated by Joe Mathews, author of The People’s Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy

Political reporters have had to reckon with entertainment culture since the progressive movement met vaudeville. But the ages of television and the Internet have brought journalism and entertainment closer together than ever. The lines between reporters, pundits, and political consultants can seem hopelessly blurred. Journalists spend less time on old-fashioned investigation and more time on projects that build their own personal brands. At the same time, despite the decline of old media, the public appetite for journalism is as high as ever. Should journalists fight the trend of news as entertainment? Or can responsible reporters find ways to embrace it? New York Times Hollywood correspondent Michael Cieply, former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, and TMZ co-executive producer Charles Latibeaudiere visit Zócalo to discuss how best to strike the balance between political journalism and entertainment.

 

Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson.

LOCATION:
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
250 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Parking $9 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall garage. Enter from Second St., just west of Grand Ave.

The Takeaway

You Can’t Fight Infotainment

Journalists Figure Out The Brave New World of Celebrity, Politics, and the Internet

Joe Mathews, Zócalo California editor and author of The People’s Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger And the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy, learned about the perils entertainment culture can hold for political journalists …