MEDIA - News Values (Why some Stories make the News and why Others Don't)! Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Identify how both Hegemonic Marxists and Traditional Marxists would say that News Content is selected!

A

HEGEMONIC MARXISTS = Agenda-setting!

TRADITIONAL MARXISTS = Reflecting the views of the owners / reinforcing the bourgeoisie ideology!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Identify how both Pluralists and Hegemonic Marxists would say who decides which events and interests are ‘Newsworthy’!

A

PLURALISTS = Democratic Mirror and Market Model –> They believe that the news is a ‘Window into the World’!

HEGEMONIC MARXISTS = Editors and Journalists ‘accidentally’ preaching the Hegemonic Ideology!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Explain one way in how the news may be packaged in society! HINT: Technological Convergence!

A

Technological Convergence - All on one site and on one piece of technology, such as the smartphone!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the 2 ways in which the News can be Consumed?

A

PASSIVELY - Viewing the media and accepting what you see online = Marxists (false consciousness), Pluralists!

ACTIVELY = Getting involved and either contributing to the media or opposing it = Post-modernists + Citizen Journalism!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Explain what is meant by the ‘Hypodermic Syringe Model’!

A

AKA the ‘Magic Bullet Theory’= This suggests that the media has a direct and powerful influence on its audience, like a syringe injecting information directly into the mind!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the 3 reasons as to why some stories make the news and not others?

What does all three of these then link to?

A
  • News Values / Newsworthiness
  • Bureaucratic Constraints
  • Ownership

These all link to the ‘Selection and Presentation’ of the News!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Explain what is meant by ‘News Values / Newsworthiness’!

A

What is regarded as interesting to the audience!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Explain what is meant by ‘Bureaucratic Constraints’!

A

The logistics of collecting news!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Explain what is meant by ‘Ownership’!

A

Who owns the company and what their values are!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What does McQuail say, in regards to the Media / the News?

A

They say that it is all ‘socially manufactured’, due to the selective process of selecting and presenting the News to the People!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Who are Galtung and Ruge and what did they identify?

A

Galtung and Ruge are 2 Norwegian Sociologists who identified a set of news values, which they believe are used by Journalists when they select News Stories!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

(GALTUNG AND RUGE) Name the 10 News Values they identified! HINT: Name as many as you can; you do not need to remember all of them, but try and remember at least 3-5!

A
  1. Extraordinary / Unexpectedness
  2. Threshold
  3. Un-ambiguity
  4. Reference to Elite Persons
  5. Reference to Elite Nations
  6. Personalisation
  7. Frequency
  8. Continuity
  9. Negativity
  10. Composition
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

(EXTRAORDINARINESS) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Rare, unpredictable, shocking events!

EG: Terrorist attacks and the deaths of celebrities, such as Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

(THRESHOLD) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

The ‘bigger’ an event is, the more national press it gets!

EG: Terrorist attacks, such as 9/11 –> Due to the size of the audience and the amount of people they impact!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

(UN-AMBIGUITY) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Events that are easily understood and clear to grasp!

EG: Financial crimes are harder for people to understand in comparison to murders and solved crimes, such as serial killers like Ted Bundy!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

(REFERENCE TO ELITE PERSONS) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Stories that involve and include famous and powerful people who are worthy of public interest!

EG: ‘Partygate’ and the Royal Family!

17
Q

(REFERENCE TO ELITE NATIONS) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Stories that involve and revolve around important nations! Especially countries that are close to the UK / have links to the US, as seen with the publication of US stories in the UK (perhaps this is due to the influence of Murdoch though, as he owns both UK and US companies).

EG: Stories regarding Trump and him going for re-election!

18
Q

(PERSONALISATION) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Personalised to one person / individual / celebrity and the drama that surrounds them!

EG: Politics is often presented as ‘Party Leader’ vs ‘Party Leader’ –> Starmer vs Sunak!

19
Q

(FREQUENCY) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

How frequently events like this happen and how long they last!

EG: ‘Longer stories’ often involve the impacts of the EU and Brexit, due to the long process and the longevity of its impact!

20
Q

(CONTINUITY) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

The story that ‘keeps running’, which makes it more accessible and longer-lived!

EG: Madeline McCann and Brexit!

21
Q

(NEGATIVITY) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Bad stories are often more newsworthy, as they are more exciting!

EG: Iran War and the war in Ukraine + the Israel-Palestine Conflict!

22
Q

(COMPOSITION) Explain what this means and give an Example!

A

Events that fit the style of the Paper / Website / TV Channel it is on!

EG: Right-wing papers supporting right-wing ideas, such as policies regarding the economy!

23
Q

TRUE OR FALSE: 3/4 of TikTok’s user base are aged 16-24!

A

FALSE: 1/2 (50%) of TikTok’s user base are aged 16-24!

24
Q

TRUE OR FALSE: YOUNGER age groups are much more likely to use the internet and social media for news!

A

TRUE!

25
Q

Where do OLDER age groups most of their news from?

A

They often favour printed newspapers, radio and TV for their news!

Around 70% of people aged 65+ get their news information from TV channels, like the BBC and BBC One!

26
Q

Give the names of 2 Sociologists who critic News Values!

A

Brighton and Foy!

27
Q

(BRIGHTON AND FOY) Explain their Criticisms of News Values! HINT: Only of Norwegian newspapers, lack of Consensus in actual society + Different Cultural Expectations!

A

They criticise Galtung and Ruge by pointing out that their research was only limited to Norwegian newspapers. They also are not sure how relevant the news values are today, in contemporary society!

They believe that it is unlikely that there is a consensus amongst Journalists, Editors and Owners about News Values, due to the diversity of the media and society today! = Audiences are also so diverse, as seen with the ranges of social classes, ethnicities, ages, genders, identities etc in society, so suggesting that there is a consensus between journalists and audiences is false! EG: The news values of a Sun reader may be different to someone who watched Channel 4!

They also suggest that cultural expectations about news vary from country to country - what people in Mexico deem as ‘newsworthy’ may be different from what people in Britain suggest is ‘newsworthy’!

28
Q

(BRIGHTON AND FOY) What 3 ways did they identify to determine that Journalism is undergoing a change and that Traditional Values / News Values may no longer be relevant?

A
  • Influence and emergence of Lobbyists and ‘Spin Doctors’
  • Churnalism
  • Citizen Journalism
29
Q

What does Spencer-Thomas say about ‘News Values’? HINT: Criteria and Guidelines!

A

They say that News Values are criteria that determine the worth of a news story and how much prominence it is given by newspaper and broadcast media!

They define news values as general guidelines or criteria that determine the worth of a news story and how noticed it is by newspapers or broadcast media.

30
Q

What do Harcup and O’Neill say, in regards to criticising News Values? HINT: Their own News Values!

A

They updated Galtung and Ruge’s study by looking into British newspapers! = They concluded that there were 10 criteria / news values that newspaper reporters use to judge whether a story is newsworthy or not. These include (but there are more out there):

  • Celebrity
  • Surprise
  • Bad news
  • Magnitude
  • Relevance
  • Media Agenda
31
Q

Explain the Influence of ‘Spin Doctors’ and Lobbyists and give some Examples!

A

‘Spin Doctors’ = Their role is to meet journalists in order to ‘manage’ news stories so that they are favourable to the government. EG: In Blair’s government, Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson were his ‘spin doctors’!

Both lobbyists and ‘spin doctors’ challenge the idea that all news stories are the product of news values; some stories are clearly constructed to favour particular political points of view.

32
Q

Explain what Davies means by ‘Churnalism’ and explain its Impact!

A

Davies = He argues that journalists should be renamed ‘churnalists’ because they are largely engaged in churning out ‘facts’ or stories that are given to them by government spin doctors and public relations companies that work for the interests of celebrities.

He suggests that up to 80% of stories found in tabloid newspapers come from these official sources (PR people, PA and Reuters) rather than journalists using their own news-gathering skills.

Influence of Churnalism = News stories are characterised by uniformity, which reduces the choice that is available to the news reader (‘myth of choice’) = There is little opportunity to see other sides of the story, as hardly any other choice or interpretations are given!

33
Q

What does Drudge say about Citizen Journalism? HINT: Not Constrained by News Values + Helps to Improve Democracy!

A

Drudge claims that citizen journalism has allowed every citizen to be a reporter and have their voice equated with that of the rich and powerful → Citizen journalists are also not constrained by any system of news values that might prevent certain facts coming to light = EG: The BBC was accused of not reporting knowledge of Jimmy Saville’s crimes because he occupied a powerful position within the BBC.

Drudge also claims that citizen journalism goes against these obstacles (such as news values) and, therefore, helps to improve the democratic process. Citizen journalism challenges the idea that news is shaped by news values and also supports the postmodern notion that mass media content is now more diverse.

34
Q

What are the 2 Quotes that John Snow uses to speak about Citizen Journalism?

A
  1. He claimed that Citizen Journalism was ‘gold dust flying our way’
  2. However = He also said that ‘there’s loads of rubbish out there’!
35
Q

What do Supporters of Citizen Journalism in the UK say about it, in regards to improving Democracy?

Can you give any Examples?

A

They argue that it is useful for monitoring those in power and authority because of its ‘whistle-blowing’ potential, especially for politics. Citizen journalism may also improve knowledge of what is going on in societies that Western journalists may find difficult to accept / be prevented from freely moving around!

EG: During the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011-2012, a great deal of information was passed on by citizen journalists to Western news agencies.

36
Q

What does Keen say about Citizen Journalism? HINT: 3 Negatives!

A

He dismisses citizen journalism as offering up “opinion as fact, rumour as reportage and innuendo as information”.

This suggests that citizen journalism has issues regarding its validity of the information, as it may have been misinterpreted or falsely labelled as something else, which can lead to the spreading of ‘fake news’, which may be harmful to some members of society.

37
Q

In terms of Citizen Journalists improving the Democratic Process, what does Couldry argue is actually the truth, in regards to the USA? HINT: Citizen Journalism had a MINIMAL impact!

A

They investigated citizen journalism and its impact in the USA; they concluded that it had a minimal effect on both the news-gathering process and the democratic process.

38
Q

What does Gillmor argue, in regards to the Negatives of Citizen Journalism? HINT: Only privileged people can be Citizen Journalists!

A

They state that citizen journalism is usually the product of a narrow and privileged part of society; it requires education, technical skills, money and time! It is doubtful that the traditional voiceless sections of society - mainly the poor and the working-class - are going to be citizen journalists, due to lack of education and resources!