news selection - media

Question 1

Tv news - most reliable

Answer 1

• newsreaders are seen as ‘neutral’ observers
• they dress smartly
• they maintain eye contact throughout the broadcast, viewers feel like they can trust them.

Question 2

Tv news - most reliable 2

Answer 2

• body language suggests authority
• they sit up straight, behind a desk, often wearing powerful clothing

Question 3

Tv news - high tech

Answer 3

• delivery demonstrated the extent gone to gain the ‘truth’ - e.g. statistical summaries and graphs, green screens, world correspondents

Question 4

news values - definition

Answer 4

News values are the values and assumptions held by editors and journalists which guide them in choosing what is ‘newsworthy’.

Question 5

news values

Answer 5

• for each new story that is published or broadcast newsmakers ask themselves a series of questions and aim to create the most newsworthy story.
• the more news values the story holds the more newsworthy it is seen to be and ultimately the more people that will engage with the story.

Question 6

composition

Answer 6

• do the events fit the style and politics of the newspaper?
• will there be a balance of items?

Question 7

extraordinariness

Answer 7

• unexpected or rare events because they are out of the ordinary

Question 8

threshold

Answer 8

• the bigger the event the more likely it will be nationally reported
  e.g. natural disasters

Question 9

reference to the elite

Answer 9

• stories which show coverage of the famous and the powerful are often seen as more newsworthy than those which feature the general public.

Question 10

negativity

Answer 10

• bad news seems to be more exciting to viewers/readers than good news

Question 11

personalisation

Answer 11

• events may be personalised by associating a particular celebrity or leader with the specific event

Question 12

sociological approaches to news selection

Answer 12

Neo pluralist, marxist and neo marxist approaches to news selection in the media

Question 13

neo - pluralism

Answer 13

• argue that journalists are objective and impartial pursuers of the truth
  -however they acknowledge this has become increasingly difficult to achieve in a modern world.

Question 14

Davies

Answer 14

• suggested that journalists fail in their basic function to check facts due to 24-hour news.
• this creates ‘churnalism’ where journalists are uncritical and have an over-reliance on ‘facts’ produced by government spin doctors

Question 15

Marxism

Answer 15

• argue that owners influence the content of the news
• they do this by giving direct instructions to journalist and broadcasters regarding the stories that should and should not be covered
• they will often use their newspapers or news programs to promote their political agenda, this is now happening more and more due to the concentration of ownership.

Question 16

new-marxism

Answer 16

• suggests biased news is linked to the social background of media professionals
• they specifically focus on journalists.

Question 17

GUMG

Answer 17

• glasgow university media group
  argue that the way the news is gathered and presented is the result of a journalists’ social background​.
  These journalists are often socialised in middle class families and education systems and they see nothing wrong with society so do not criticise it within their reporting. ​ 

Question 18

Socialisation

Answer 18

As a result they side with the rich and powerful because they have more in common with them​.
Therefore, media bias is a by-product of middle class journalism and not intentional as Marxists argue.