Topic 2- The Processes of Selection & Presentation of the content of the News Flashcards
what is the most used news platform and how many people said it was their most used platform?
- television
75%
who said news is socially constructed?
McQuail
what did mcquail say in regards to the news?
- news is socially manufactured
- end result of a selective process
- selected by ‘gatekeepers’
what 3 things influence process of news selection?
- The news values held by media organisations
- Organizational or bureaucratic constraints/routines
- Ownership of media news organisations
what are news values and who recognised them?
- spencer thomas
- general guidelines or criteria that determine the worth of a news story and how much prominence it is given
what perspective view news values as important?
pluralists
who identified the different news values from newspapers in norway and what are they?
- galtung and ruge
- Extraordinary
- Reference to elite persons
- Personalization
- Negativity
what is an evaluation of galtung and ruge’s findings?
- limited to norwegian newspapers
- not clear if these news values are still relevant
what is an evaluation of news values?
- Brighton and Foy point out that cultural expectations about news vary from country to country – what the typical Mexican regards as newsworthy may be quite different from the typical German or Briton
what 3 things do Brighton and Foy recognise in regards to changing journalism?
- spin doctors
- churnalism
- citizenship journalism
explain the influence of spin doctors on the news
-Powerful groups may bypass traditional news values by influencing or shaping news stories to support their interests.
- Governments have increasingly employed press officers, or “spin doctors,” to manage and present news in a way that benefits them.
- The collaboration between lobby journalists and spin doctors undermines the notion that news is purely shaped by objective news values, revealing political bias in some stories.
explain what churnalism is
- Cost-cutting in news organizations has led to fewer journalists and increased reliance on pre-packaged news from agencies like the Press Association and Reuters.
- Journalist Nick Davies criticizes this trend, coining the term “churnalism” to describe how many reporters now uncritically reproduce stories from official sources, especially PR and government spin.
- Churnalism results in uniform, one-sided news coverage that limits diversity of perspectives and reduces reader choice.
explain citizenship journalism
- Advances in digital technology and social media have enabled the rise of citizen journalism, where ordinary people contribute to news reporting.
- In the UK, citizen journalism includes anyone who submits a story, photo, or video to mainstream news outlets like the BBC.
- Major news events, such as the 2015 Paris attacks, have increasingly relied on real-time footage and information provided by citizen journalists.
what do marxists say about if the news is socially constructed?
- believe it isn’t
- McChesney argues that this is an ideological myth invented by media owners in order to present the corporate media monopoly as a ‘neutral’ and unbiased contributor to democracy
- Powerful media owners can influence news content by shaping editorial policies, affecting which stories are covered and how they are presented.
- Even without direct involvement, owners’ expectations are often met by editors who self-censor to align with their employer’s views and protect their positions.
what do edwards and cromwell argue about the media’s role
- the media’s role as a propaganda machine for capitalism means that subjects such as corporate criminality or the poor human rights record of UK allies, such as China or Saudi Arabia, are often ignored by the British news media
who evaluates marxist theories about the news and what do they say?
- schlesinger
- The media can challenge the powerful, as politicians carefully manage their words to avoid negative public perception, political backlash, or pressure to resign.
- News organizations compete for audience attention and advertising revenue, which undermines the Marxist idea of a unified, propaganda-driven media.
- Feminists criticize Marxism for overlooking how women are portrayed in the media, highlighting a gap in its analysis of media representation.
what does Hall say about the news and what perspective does he have?
- neo marxist
- there is a hierarchy of credibility
- journalists report what prominent people say about the events rather than the actual events themselves
- minority groups are ignored
what does GUMG say about how the news is collected and presented and what perspective do they have?
- hegemonic marxist
- that the way in which news is gathered and presented is actually the product of the middle class backgrounds of most journalists and editors.
- Journalists tend to unconsciously align with the views of the powerful and wealthy, often resisting radical ideas from marginalized groups.
- According to the GUMG, journalists engage in agenda setting by selecting stories that reflect their worldview, using language and imagery that favors the powerful while downplaying perspectives of the less powerful.
what is agenda setting and gate keeping and who talk about this?
- hegemonic marxists
- Agenda Setting: The news media is successful in determining what audience think about through directing which content is included in news stories.
- Gatekeeping: Not only does the news have the power and influence to direct conversation, it can also limit its scope. Journalists act as ‘gatekeepers’ influencing the knowledge the public had access to.
what 2 things do hegemonic marxists believe happen when journalists select media content?
- agenda setting
- gatekeeping
what is a moral panic and who talks about this?
- cohen
- The news media can create moral panics by exaggerating the threat posed by certain groups or activities, generating public anxiety and pressuring authorities to take action.
- Cohen’s study showed how the media distorted minor youth disturbances in 1964, using dramatic language to portray them as serious threats to public order.
- These reports framed youth groups like the mods and rockers as dangerous, leading to calls for increased policing and harsher penalties, despite the actual events being relatively minor.
what are the 8 stages cohen recognised when a moral panic is constructed?
- Sensationalism – Tabloids exaggerate stories about a group or activity using dramatic headlines.
- Labeling – Follow-up stories portray the group as a social threat or ‘folk devils’, focusing on appearance and behavior.
- Simplification – Media blames the issue on moral decline, disrespect, or loss of control.
- Reaction – Politicians and leaders condemn the group, calling for action.
- Public Response – The public reports more incidents, seeing the group as a threat.
- Crackdown – Authorities respond with harsh policing, legal action, and restrictions.
- Amplification – The group reacts by becoming more deviant or going underground.
- Self-fulfilling Prophecy – Increased arrests and media reports confirm the group’s ‘problem’ status.
what are 3 evaluations of moral panics?
- Jewkes claims that moral panic theory is too vague in its definition of deviance. E.g. she notes that it fails to consider that there are different levels of deviancy
- Postmodernists argue that moral panics reflect the views of dominant groups in society.
- Audiences today are less likely to accept media messages without questioning them, due to access to multiple perspectives.
- New media gives all groups, including those labeled as deviant, a platform to challenge how they are portrayed.
- Critcher believes that the concept of moral panic is too abstract to be testable and that the news characteristics associated with it, such as sensationalism and disproportionality, are too vague and potentially value laden.
