Topic 3 : Selection And Presentation Of The News

Question 1

What does McQuail say about the selection and presentation of the news

Answer 1

News is socially manufactured because ‘gatekeepers’ such as editors and journalists make choices about how much coverage they will give to certain events

Question 2

News values

Answer 2

1. Threshold - the bigger the event the more likely it will be reported
2. Unambiguity - events which are easy to understand are more likely to be reported than those which are open to interpretation
3. Reference to elite persons - stories of the famous and powerful are seen as more newsworthy than news of the general public
4. Negativity - bad news seems to be more exciting to journalists than good news
5. Extraordinariness - unexpected or rare events have more newsworthiness than routine events
6. Personalisation - events may be personalised by associating a particular celebrity with the specific event (EG Iraq war was presented as bush and Blair vs saddam hussein)

Question 3

What is the selection and presentation of the news shaped by

Answer 3

News values
Citizen journalism
Spin doctors
Political bias
Ownership
Churnalism

Question 4

What is a spin doctor and an example

Answer 4

They manipulate news stories to make the government look good

Example - Alastair Campbell - Tony Blair’s press secretary

Question 5

The news as a socially manufactured product

Answer 5

Many events happen which are not reported in the news - and those which are selected are framed in certain ways

The content of news is a result of decisions made by media owners

Question 6

What is citizen journalism

Answer 6

individuals reporting news and events independently, often using social media and digital platforms

Question 7

Good example of citizen journalism

Answer 7

Ashuri - overcomes such bias in the reporting of the Palestine - Israel conflict

News has relied on Israeli sourced news but new media has meant the Palestinian side has been told more

Question 8

What does Bivens say about citizen journalism

Answer 8

It now covers many stories that would have ordinarily been missed by traditional news agencies

They can expose corruption

Question 9

Citizen journalism as a good thing

Answer 9

• CJ shows news from the front line - its not glossed by a news studio
• CJ are not constrained by a wider agenda that they may have to follow
• CJ are generally not paid so more likely to be objective

Question 10

Citizen journalism as damaging to the journalism process

Answer 10

• CJ are not professionally trained - may produce subjective news
• anyone can upload anything and this means there is no regulation
• CJ gain attention through producing unregulated and exaggerated news

Question 11

What is churnalism?

Answer 11

Superficial journalism that relies on quick, repetitive content generation rather than in-depth reporting and analysis

Results from financial pressure on news agencies where they cannot afford to have reporters actively searching for news stories

Question 12

What are bureaucratic and organisational factors that affect news selection

Answer 12

Financial costs - news gathering is ££ and there have been major cuts which impacts this. Newspaper readership declining - reduced revenue, making journalists redundant

Deadlines

Time / space available

Immediacy and actuality - more newsworthy if there is video footage or sound bites

Audience - adapted depending on the audience aimed at (Pl.)

Journalistic ethics - keeble and mair - unethical practices of some journalists (EG 2011 News International admitted that hacking of voice notes by journalists was common)

Question 13

Franklin - infotainment

Answer 13

We are now obsessed with entertainment which has taken over the news - has become more tabloid which blurs distinction between reality and fiction

Question 14

News selection - Marxist critique

Answer 14

Media owners manipulate and control the shaping of news - they employ editors who will comply with owners’ demands

Question 15

Chomsky

Answer 15

advertising is key – it is part of the capitalist system

Media messages shaped by market forces and advertisers are in power - news is not objective but right wing neo-liberal, pro-capitalist.

Question 16

Brainwashing through the media

Answer 16

We are socialised into thinking that we need goods - false needs, we feed into the economy that exploits us

We consume media and celebrate greed and competition

Question 17

Hall (neo Marxist) - hierarchy of credibility

Answer 17

Journalists are generally middle class white men who rank the opinions of politicians as more credible than pressure groups

Media focus on what powerful people say about events rather than the event itself - therefore minority groups are often ignored

Question 18

Advertising

Answer 18

Advertisers are the income providers for media and therefore hold power

Question 19

Agenda setting - Marxists

Answer 19

Content of the news is always going to be supportive of the dominant ideology

Question 20

Globalisation - effect on selection of the news

Answer 20

People are able to access news from anywhere on the planet - makes the news environment very competitive

Question 21

New technology - effect on selection of the news

Answer 21

Able to access news from anywhere - more likely via social media
Able to be a citizen journalist

Impact on news content:
Citizen journalism - if a video goes viral the traditional news has no choice but to cover it
More difficult for gatekeeping by traditional media as anyone is able to share information
Mainstream media need to adapt to compete with new media by creating more snappy content

Question 22

Profit - effect on selection of the news

Answer 22

Mainstream media run by large corporations who are interesting in making a profit
Advertisers pay more if their ad is likely to be seen

Impact on news content:
To get largest audience, content is made that doesn’t offend mainstream media audiences
Dominant ideas are emphasised - as mainstream audience’s views are favoured
Dumbing down of news - infotainment and celebrity gossip attracts the largest audience
Growing trend of purposefully controversial news as this draws in audiences via culture wars

Question 23

Marxist ideas on selection and presentation of the news

Answer 23

Media does not tell the truth - all part of the ISA to help manipulate the way we think (McChesney)

Question 24

The power elite

Answer 24

Bagdikian - almost all media owners in the USA are part of a wider power elite made up of a powerful industrial, financial and political establishment

Consequently, media owners ensure that the content of news is politically conservative (corporate stuff)

Bagdikian - such values permeate news, e.g. most newspapers have sections dedicated to business news, but contain little on poverty

Question 25

The propaganda model of the media

Answer 25

Herman and Chomsky:
The media participate in propaganda campaigns for elite interests

Media has filters that are built into the capitalist system that shape media output, e.g. advertisers want their advertising to appear in a selling environment whilst government can threaten the media with withdrawal of TV licences and thus control flow of information

Edwards and Cromwell :
Particular subjects, e.g. US/British government responsibility for genocide, corporate criminality and threats to the existence of human life, are distorted and ignored by the British media. Leaders of developing countries who the West disapprove are demonised, whilst the USA is presented as the champion of democracy

Question 26

AO3 of Marxist view on selection and presentation of the news

Answer 26

Pluralists argue that journalists are professionals who are impartial and objective pursuers of truth

Davies - modern day British journalism is characterised by churnalism
He found that 80% of news stories in two national newspapers were sourced in this way. Only 12% of stories were generated by journalists.

Question 27

Case study - moral panics

Answer 27

Hall - black muggers

Found some young black men started mugging
Led to sensationalist reporting and over policing of this group
Police needed groups to blame as there was a huge economic crisis

Mx - this diverted attention away from the real causes of this crisis

Question 28

Process of moral panic

Answer 28

Media focus on an issue

Reaction is exaggerated and leads to sensationalist reporting

Readers feel fearful of the situation / group - create a sense of national threat

Pressure put on authorities to do something - more policing

Certain groups are labelled and targeted

SFP amongst these groups - this can make the situation worse

Question 29

Criticisms of the moral panic theory

Answer 29

Consumers may be able to see through the media and not be so gullible

PM - we are not all passively receiving the messages and ALL groups have say including the ones being targeted

New media has undermined impact of moral panics - variety of interpretations available

Question 30

Greenwashing

Answer 30

The climate crisis is portrayed in the news as something that the people have to take responsibility for

We are pressured into changing our consumption habits when it is the large corporations who have done the damage – yet again shifting the blame.