ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the stage for the current inquiry and introduces unique features of Japanese infotainment (wideshows, in particular) in comparison to shows commonly seen on Western TV, while locating it in relation to larger discursive trends in capitalist societies. I then offer a brief overview of the infotainment and tabloidization debates in both Western countries and Japan. Most previous studies have applied quantitative methods and ideological criticism to their analysis. Their limitations give rise to this research: offering a multidimensional, ethnographic look at the infotainment discourse to demonstrate how it functions in a particular cultural context.
