Glossary A–ZLetter I
Infotainment
Infotainment is a mix of information and entertainment that wins attention through light content and uses it for messages.
The word combines “information” and “entertainment”.
On screens, infotainment is found mainly where people wait: in waiting rooms, public service offices, canteens, hotel lobbies or at stops. Short news items, weather, puzzles, sayings or bite-sized facts alternate with the operator's own notices, for example about consultation hours, offers or events. The light content ensures that the screen is looked at in the first place.
Operators should keep an eye on the balance: if the screen turns into pure entertainment, their own notices are lost; if it consists only of notices, nobody looks any more. Third-party news, images and films need a licence for public display; a freely accessible feed is not automatically cleared for screens. In sensitive settings such as medical practices, not every news item suits the situation of the people waiting, so a selection makes sense.