SH1620

Entertainment Media
Introduction
Where did the word entertain come from? It came
from the Middle French word entretenir, which means to
keep up, maintain, or to support. The word entertain is later
defined as to amuse or interest a person. The source of
entertainment before was limited to music and performing arts.
But as time evolves, technologically forms of entertainments are
starting to make names. Entertainment, nowadays, is always
associated with television or film. Also, most of us think that
entertainment is something provided by the mass media rather
than something people conduct themselves.
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the
attention and interest of an audience, gives pleasure, and delight.
Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale,
ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment
from an enormous array of pre-colored products, to a banquet
adapted for two: to any size or type of the party, with appropriate
music and dance; to performances intended for thousands, and
even for a global audience.
The Ratings Game
The entertainment TV is gradually inclining to ratings
and source of profits as its prime motivation. Because of this,
people behind entertainment TV focus on delivering people
what they want rather than what they need.
Stations are also competing against themselves. How?
Unlike before, stations are now starting using special channels
for special news features such as sports, business and politics,
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and lifestyle. This move might create multiple conflicts in terms

of who gets the support of management.
A TV rating is simply the number of households or
persons turned into a particular television program at a given
point in time. This number is calculated by gathering a sample
of households that represents the total television-viewing
population, and monitoring their viewing behaviors and habits.
This system does not measure the quality of a show but simply
the amount of time it is watched and by whom. Advertisers and
those in the television industry rely on ratings information
complied by companies like the AGB Nielsen and Kantar
Media, providers of general media statistics, including those of
television information services (Khan, 2015).
Unreality Shows
Reality TV is defined as unscripted programming that focuses
on footage of real events or happenings. Reality shows are
usually run by hosts or set up by narrators as they tell how the
events will unfold.
How real is reality TV? Things to keep in mind when
watching reality TV shows:
1. All concepts and plots were created by the shows
producers. It might not have the typical script but there
is this thing called the shooting script, which is the
outline of details of an episode or part of the show. It
could also be a conflict between some participants.
2. Since it is impossible to air the entire 24/7 filming of the
camera, scenes that will not create a drama or impact to
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the audience are likely to be excluded on a particular

episode of the show. Why? It is to keep the audiences
interest.

Khan, R. E. (2015). Media and Information Literacy Handbook.

In R. E. Khan, Media and Information Literacy
Handbook . Mandaluyong City: Anvil Publishing Inc.

3. Participants of the reality TV are not randomly chosen

but are selected based on their interesting backstory.
Also, most of the people who are auditioning are those
who are desperate to have a break in show business.
4. There is this wrong but a common practice of Franken
biting. This is a process where conversation excerpts or
sound bites are edited together to create a whole new
dialogue or conversation. Footage that was captured
days apart can come to appear as one scene or situation.
Sex and Violence in the Media
Violence in the media has been increasing and reaching
proportions that are dangerous. You turn on the television, and
violence is there. You go to a movie, and violence is there.
Reality is distorted. If you live in a fictional world, then the
fictional world becomes your reality.
References:
Retrieved
from
Unreality
shows
retrieved
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv4.htm
April 1, 2016.

from
last

Retrieved
from
http://www.teenink.com/opinion/movies_music_tv/article/3584
03/Reality-TV-Essay/ last April 1, 2016.

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