Constructing News Flashcards
What are 3 filtering processes for constructing news
Selection, Construction, Representation
In what way is news construction self perpetuating?
The articles that are reported are read by society.
Society reads the articles, and discuss the topics.
Society wants to read more about these topics.
More articles about the topic are written.
In this way, the construction of the news sets a self perpetuating agenda
What different stimuli can be used in the news
Verbal, visual, auditory.
All these stimuli can have different sociological effects.
Galtung & Ruge
How do journalists pick a story?
Frequency
Galtung and Ruge
The timing of an occurrence
relative to news cycles
Amplitude
Galtung and Ruge
The magnitude of the event
Journalists want to report large spectacles
Clarity
Galtung and Ruge
Easy for a mass audience to understand Simplified characters (e.g. Hero and villain)
Predictability
Galtung and Ruge
Does the story fit with existing preconceptions
Does it confirm (not challenge) existing stereotypes
Confirming “this is the way the world works”
Most powerful form of news construction
Cultural Proximity
Galtung and Ruge
Reporting on countries and people most familiar to “us”
NOT reporting on unfamiliar
Making the unfamiliar familiar eg “British casualties”
Unexpectedness
Galtung and Ruge
Shock factor
Also fits into pre-existing preconceptions
Continuity
Galtung and Ruge
Can the story be drawn out over a long time period
Reporting on the story even without any significant developments
Composition
Galtung and Ruge
Mixing stories together
Big headlines
Personification
Galtung and Ruge
Focus on INDIVIDUALS instead of SOCIAL CONTEXTS / FORCES
Representation by individuals
Elites
Galtung and Ruge
Celebrity factor
Royals
Negativity
Galtung and Ruge
Focus on bad news
