Abstract
One of the more evident processes of the mediatization of politics relates to the proliferation of infotainment television programs covering political contents with sensationalistic and spectacular tones. In the relevant literature, such programs are indicated as the privileged cognitive resource of an audience model insufficiently involved and interested into the public issues, prone to a behaviour of 'low information rationality' regarding political life. Starting from such premises, the paper presents the results of research lead with qualitative and quantitative methods on the Italian electorate during the 2006 Italian general election campaign. The image emerging is instead that of an "aware" citizen, well able to make use of various cognitive shortcuts, to distinguish and to locate various areas of meaning in the programming of Italian infotainment; in short, an "active", spectator who knows how to concert television and mediatic competences with political ones.
| Translated title of the contribution | [Autom. eng. transl.] Infotainment and interest in politics |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Title of host publication | La maratona di Prodi e lo sprint di Berlusconi. La campagna elettorale 2006 |
| Editors | PAOLO MANCINI |
| Pages | 137-158 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Keywords
- elezioni politiche
- infotainment
- politics