An Observation on Infotainment

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION:


Genre : Infotainment
Topic : Gossip of a government figure
Purpose : To provide information about B.J. Habibie making a poem for his deceased wife, Ainun Besari.
Setting : In a TV studio
Participants : An Indonesian male presenter about 25 years old
An Indonesian female presenter about 30 years old
The general public
Message form : Spoken Indonesian, video, recorded poem, song as back-sound
Act sequence : 1. Opening of gossip by the presenters about B.J. Habibie making a poem for his deceased wife
2. Voice over of a poem written by B.J. Habibie
3. Narration about the poem plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
4. Flashback to the funeral day plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
5. Narration about Habibie praying on his wife’s cemetery plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
6. Habibie’s pray for his wife
7. Narration about the chronology of the death of Ainun Besari
8. An interview with Adrie Subono (a celebrity which is also Ainun Besari’s nephew)
9. Narration about a little biography of Ainun Besari plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
10. Farewell and prayer from Dina Mariana (a celebrity)
11. Farewell and prayer from Donita (a celebrity)
12. Farewell and prayer from the casts of Fitri serials
13. Comment from the two presenters
14. A Polite Joke from the male presenter
15. Closing for the following ads
Rules for interaction : There is no interaction between the presenters and the general public, so there are not any properties used. The interaction only occurs between the presenters, but without using any properties, too.
Norms of interpretation : The presenters are assumed authority in the area.

The shared information is that B.J. Habibie is Indonesia’s 4th president and Ainun Habibie was his wife.

The culture of Indonesia influences the delivering of information. The joke and the comment are delivered politely since the object of information is the 3rd president of Indonesia.

Another shared condition is the sadness which influences the choice of song. The song is slow and melancholic as the convention of the culture says so.



Communicative Event:
1. Opening of gossip by the presenters about B.J. Habibie making a poem for his deceased wife
2. Voice over of a poem written by B.J. Habibie
3. Narration about the poem plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
4. Flashback to the funeral day plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
5. Narration about Habibie praying on his wife’s cemetery plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
6. Habibie’s pray for his wife
7. Narration about the chronology of the death of Ainun Besari
8. An interview with Adrie Subono (a celebrity which is also Ainun Besari’s nephew)
9. Narration about a little biography of Ainun Besari plus back-sound “Opick’s song”
10. Farewell and prayer from Dina Mariana (a celebrity)
11. Farewell and prayer from Donita (a celebrity)
12. Farewell and prayer from the casts of Fitri serials
13. Comment from the two presenters
14. A Polite Joke from the male presenter
15. Closing for the following ads

Problems appearing from the Communicative Event presented:
People will get touched and involved to the story presented. With the chosen back-sound, flashback to the funeral day, and a little biography about the deceased Ainun Besari, people will empathize more.



Genre : infotainment
Topic : gossip of Arumi Bachsin in Insert Pagi 31/5/2010
Function : to inform viewers about Arumi Bachsin’s problem
to see her problem from other point of view
Setting : in a TV studio
Key : semi formal, a bit crowded, chill
Participants : presenters of Insert, Alif Ali (Miler’s brother/Arumi’s boyfriend) and Miler’s manager
Message form : formal and informal Indonesian, spoken, video
Message contact : the responses of Alif and Miler manager toward Arumi’s case. They say, “It was all Arumi’s decision to leave her mom.”
Act sequence : 1. Opening of gossip by the presenters about Arumi who went to Singapore to avoid her mother
2. Video showing Arumi before she went to Singapore and her relationship with Miler
3. Narration about Arumi’s leaving
4. an interview with Alif Ali (Miler’s brother) and Miler’s manager
5. the narrator gives comments towards Alif and the manager’s statement
6. Alif and the manager respond to some of Arumi’s news
7. the narrator gives comment back about Arumi’s family point of view
8. Alif and the manager respond to the statements
9. Comments from the two presenters
10. A Polite Joke from the male presenter
15. Closing for the following ads

Rules for interaction : There is no interaction between the presenters and the general public, so there are not any properties used. The interaction only occurs between the presenters, but without using any properties, too.
Norms of interpretation : The presenters are assumed authority in the area.

The shared information is Arumi went to Singapore without acknowledgement of her parents and she was assumed to be influenced by Miler (her boyfriend).

The culture of Indonesia influences the delivering of information. The joke and the comment are delivered in a bit impolite way as other society may think so. They make it a bit funny.

Communicative Event:
1. Opening of gossip by the presenters about Arumi who went to Singapore to avoid her mother
2. Video showing Arumi before she went to Singapore and her relationship with Miler
3. Narration about Arumi’s leaving
4. an interview with Alif Ali (Miler’s brother) and Miler’s manager
5. the narrator gives comments towards Alif and the manager’s statement
6. Alif and the manager respond to some of Arumi’s news
7. the narrator gives comment back about Arumi’s family point of view
8. Alif and the manager respond to the statements
9. Comments from the two presenters
10. A Polite Joke from the male and female presenter
15. Closing for the following ads




Problems appearing from the Communicative Event presented:
People will get touched and involved to the story presented. The way they present the events evoke society to believe in Miler side, Arumi side, or even Arumi’s mother side. The presenters give opinion from those three point of views.


Comparison of the two gossips:
The first gossip is sad so it uses slow and melancholic back-sound, and the second uses standard back-sound. The first is about a government figure (the 3rd president of Indonesia) so the delivering of information and comment is more polite than the second one. The second one is about Arumi Bachsin, a teenage artist who went to Singapore to avoid her mother. However, since both of the gossips are taken form the same program (on different day), the structure of the message-delivering is almost the same. The difference is merely on the content, context, and duration.