Topic 2: Selection and presentation of the news

Question 1

Social construct of the news

Answer 1

what is broadcasted and written up as news each day is a social construct
A complex range of practical ideological, cultural, economic and social factors in the particular stories that are told

Question 2

Evidence of social construction of the news

Answer 2

Glasgow Media Group (GMG)
studies that the selection and presentation of the news isnt a neutral process, the media is selected with DOMINANT IDEOLOGIES

Question 3

Herman and Chomsky 2002

Answer 3

• propaganda model of media, arguing that mainstream news is
  influenced by powerful social interests
• Structural factors (ownership/ advertisement dependence) create interconnected relationships among the media

Question 4

Influence of the owners (3 points)

Answer 4

• owners occasionally give direct instructions to their editors - Eg, needing camera crews in different countries
• Journalists depend on their careers - they will do as they say, and not challenge any political preferences
• The drive for profit in a competitive media landscape leads to bland, unchallenging infotainment, side lining real news. This fosters unethical journalism, like intrusive paparazzi.

Question 5

Making a profit
(Barnett and Seymour, and Curran et al)

Answer 5

important to appeal to everyone and offend no one (unless offending a few helps to
generate a target audience). This often means that minority or unpopular points of view go unrepresented in the media, and this helps to maintain the hegemony of the dominant ideas in society.

Question 6

Impacts of ‘making a profit’

Answer 6

Competition for audiences leads to ‘tabloidization,’ replacing serious journalism with infotainment—celebrity gossip, sensationalism, and entertainment. Barnett & Gaber (2001) argue this results in less critical, more conformist political reporting

Question 7

Examples of Social construct in the news
(Philo and Berry 2011)

Answer 7

found many British television reports on the Palestinians were suppression of stories or biased or inadequate news reports

Question 8

Examples of Social constructs of the News (New Media: Bivens 2008)

Answer 8

citizen journalism through mobile phone picture and video recording at the scene of news events is transforming trad journalism

Question 9

Citizen journalism

Answer 9

suits the mainstream media organizations’ own needs, as they can obtain news items and supporting video at little cost to themselves, compared to sending out their own reporters and news cameras.

Question 10

Presenting the News

Answer 10

People’s habits in the way they keep up with the news have changed, with less use of
newspapers and TV, and growing use of social media to access and spread news. People now
expect to be able to access up-to-date news at all times and wherever they happen to be,
through their mobile phones, tablets and laptops, or computers at home or work.

Question 11

Breaking News

Answer 11

very tight time schedules to meet ever- shortening deadlines, which means that shortcuts to news gathering may need to be taken.
Stories aren’t checked as carefully as they should be, to verify facts and to ensure it is real information rather than speculation

Question 12

Agenda setting

Answer 12

McCombs 2004: the news in the media now increasingly not only tells us what to think about, but also how to think about certain subjects
GMG argues that major media organizations and journalists operate within a dominant ideology that limits the public’s news choices.

Question 13

Agenda setting (Philo 2012)

Answer 13

hat media shifted public anger from bankers to welfare claimants, promoting solutions within the existing financial system while ignoring alternatives

Question 14

Gatekeeping (Gans 1979)

Answer 14

editors act as gate keepers because they literally decide
what is news and what is not. This is essentially a filtering process.
Sometimes this will be based on practical considerations (such as
space on a page) and other times it will be political or cultural or based on news values.

Question 15

Norm Setting

Answer 15

media promote conformity to social norms while marginalizing non-conformists through negative portrayal. It is accomplished in two primary ways:

Question 16

Norm Setting Primary ways

Answer 16

1) Encouraging Conformity:

Promotes behaviours like obeying laws, helping others, and not going
on strike. Also things like advertising often reinforces gender stereotypes.

2) Discouraging Non-Conformity
Media sensationalizes violent crimes, riots, and other rule-breaking behaviours.
Emphasizes consequences for breaking social norms, teaching expected behaviours.

Question 17

News Values (Galtung and Ruge)

Answer 17

This refers to the way in
which journalists and news corporations attach significance to a particular story and judge its ‘newsworthiness’.

News values is also underpinned by the economic pressures of needing to make a profit, by constantly striving to attract readers and viewers through news flashes, scoops and exclusives of all kinds.

Question 18

Jewkes 2004

Answer 18

updated the news values, adding the importance of celebrity, graphic images and the involvement of children as features that would ensure a story was included in a bulletin or newspaper.

Question 19

Presenting the news A03 evaluation

Answer 19

Marxists argue that news selection is driven by ideology, not just news values. Agenda-setting and gatekeeping reinforce ruling-class dominance and political control over media content.

Question 20

Making of the news

Answer 20

The presentation of news items significantly influences public perception. Some Issues may not be covered at all if journalists or camera crews are not available

Question 21

Emotive Language

Answer 21

placing a dramatic
angle on events. For example, words like, ‘troublemakers’,
“thugs’, ‘rioters’, ‘scroungers’, ‘scum’, ‘terrorist’, ‘atrocity’ or ‘brutal” encourage people to have a negative view of the people or events reported.

Question 22

Making of the News: Bias

Answer 22

News images are selectively chosen and may distort reality. The GMG found that industrial disputes are often filmed to favour employers—shown in quiet offices—while workers appear loud and chaotic, shaping public perception

Question 23

Making of the News A03

Answer 23

• Pluralists like Jones (1986) argue that actually the news does fairly reflect reality. He researched radio news broadcasts and concluded that there was a balanced, even-
  handed discussion of industrial disputes.
• The media isn’t universal and events in some regions and countries are still likely to go unrecorded

Question 24

Moral Panics

Answer 24

Sensationalised reporting creates moral panics—public fears over exaggerated threats. The media shapes perceptions of deviance, reinforcing dominant values while driving audience engagement.

Question 25

3 Key elements of moral panic

Answer 25

1) The media identify a group as ‘folk devils’ 2) The group are presented in a negative/stereotypical fashion 3) Moral entrepreneurs condemn the group

Question 26

Moral Panic (Cohen)

Answer 26

Moral panics arise when the media exaggerates issues, often linked to deviance (e.g., youth violence, drug culture). Neo-Marxists like Hall argue they distract from bigger problems. Cohen suggests media can worsen deviance (deviancy amplification), as seen in the 2011 UK riots.

Question 27

Folk Devils

Answer 27

Folk devils are individuals or groups portrayed negatively in the media, often linked to deviance. Cohen (1964) showed how media exaggerated the Mods & Rockers conflict, demonizing youth subcultures and fuelling moral panic.

Question 28

Moral Panic A03

Answer 28

- McRobbie & Thornton 1995 moral panics are decreasing due to new media technologies and 24/7 news cycles. Various media forms has shifted how audiences respond to events that might have previously incited moral panics. - Pluralists and Postmodernists: moral panics are decreasing due to new media technologies and 24/7 news cycles. The intense competition among various media forms, including web-based news and social networks, has shifted how audiences respond to events that might have previously incited moral panics.

Question 29

Journalists (Becker 1967)

Answer 29

hierarchy of credibility. This means they attach the greatest importance to the views of powerful and influential individuals and groups, such as senior politicians, senior police officers, civil servants or business leaders and bankers, rather than ordinary people.

Question 30

Churnalism

Answer 30

The GMG highlights the role of journalists' assumptions in shaping media content and audience interpretations, emphasising the influence of 'churnalism’. This in it’s simplest form is where news reports are then often based on what others claim about events rather than what reporters have discovered for themselves

Question 31

Key Points of Churnalism

Answer 31

- Journalists prioritize views from powerful figures (e.g., politicians, police, business leaders) over ordinary citizens, creating a hierarchy of credibility. - Hall et al. refer to these influential figures as ‘primary definers’ who set the news agenda and influence definitions of news. - Media often consult primary definers for expert opinions on topics like crime and economic policy, as their views are deemed more credible.

Question 32

Journalist (Manning)

Answer 32

market competition pressures journalists to rely on primary definers as convenient news sources, leading to potential manipulation by governments and businesses.

Question 33

Journalist (Davies 2008)

Answer 33

80 per cent of stories in The Times, the Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail were wholly, mainly or partially constructed from second-hand material, provided by news agencies and by the public relations industry. Only 12 per cent of stories were generated by reporters.

Question 34

Majority of Journalists

Answer 34

journalism is predominantly white, male, and middle-class, which shapes the selection of sources, perceived important issues, and presentation of news. Media often reflects the views of powerful societal groups, favouring managers over workers or police over protesters.

Question 35

Jewell 2014

Answer 35

branded content paid for by advertisers and promoting their products but masquerading as journalists' news articles - were increasingly appearing on the online news sites of mainstream media brands

Question 36

Journalist A03 Evaluation

Answer 36

- Pluralists: media competition and the need to attract audiences also mean that journalists do occasionally expose injustice, or corruption in government and business, and therefore are not always or simply in the pockets of the powerful.