[Page 509]Infotainment is a hybrid media type that seeks to present information in a highly stylized and entertaining manner. As the name suggests, it blends elements of news with entertainment and advertising in an attempt to simultaneously inform and titillate audiences, while also often serving as a thinly veiled inducement to consumerism. First emerging in the past decades of the 20th century, it has continued to grow and expand into the second decade of the 21st century. It has arguably become the dominant style by which information is transmitted by the mass media and not only structures the way in which audiences expect to receive information but also heavily influences the way in which individuals construct and present their own self-narratives through social media.

The coupling ...