what is news Flashcards
the news = a window on the world
news presented in a variety of forms - 21st C
1990s - mainly tv, radio, broadsheet newspapers
despite new media - majority still rely on traditional methods
ofcom - 75% of people indicated TV most used platform for news, 40% newspapers, 36% radio
practical, economic and structural factors
routine schedules - events that fit in publishing cycles more likely to be featured - now 24 hour news
requirements of the paper/ tv channel - style and balance of item
financial considerations - due to impact of new media - cutting costs - decline in expensive forms of journalism eg foreign affairs - news more about infotainment
sources of news - cheaper sources eg newswire agencies generate short reports 24 hours a day or press releases
technical constraints - easier to get cameras and journalists into some places
visual impact - world increasingly driven by images and symbols
news values
a core set of values underpinning the news - identified by Gatlung and Ruge
gatekeepers decide which stories - agenda-setting - editors and journalists select according to mental ramework
threshold - when news interesting enough
visual imperative - strong pictures make stories
proximity - closer to home
continuity - coverage of event over period of time
frequency - stories usually only last for one day
negativity - take normal for granted
predictability - media fulfil own expectations
unexpectedness - presenting as unexpected even if it is
unambiguity - clear and simply
composition - balance between home and foreign stories
personalisation - experiences of individual
narrativisation - stories in narrative form
the role of the government in selecting the news
spin doctors - directors of communications and press officers hired to promote the government agenda in the media - usually have worked for media
co-ordinate all government press releases - push the party line
eg alastair campbell for new labour - famous for trying to bully and threaten journalists into towing the party line
Blumler and Gurevitch - relationships between journalists and politicians leads to a shared culture
- briefing - put ideas into public domain
- official secrets act - criminal offence to publish
- leaks - leak documents to shape media narrative
- state ownership - own and run media eg north korea
- control of the license fee - can threaten to remove funding
- relationships - provide extra access for positive coverage
the relationship between the new media and the news
new media allows those form outside the political process to help shape the news - blogging, social media = now media
citizen journalism - allows every citizen to be a reporter and have voice be equated with that of rich and powerful
journalists - use new media to find evidence - poor quality and inaccuracy
cultural pessimists - decline in popular culture, harvey - candyfloss culture
murphy - twitter - useful to get information from areas where hard to get direct access eg arab spring 2011
new media and the police in the news
Hillsborough and Stephen Lawrence - police act as primary definers in news coverage
lied to media and government but explanation viewed as fact
Hillsborough stadium disaster - police blamed fans when lack of control but police caused deaths
- victims portrayed negatively and criminally - supported by conservative government
labelling - top of hierarchy of credibility
the leveson inquiry into phone hacking
phone hacking of murder victims, soldiers and other groups by the media
Keeble and Mair - news media full of unethical culture and practices
inquiry calling for stronger regulation of media rejected by coalition government - continued self-regulation
does media really act in public interest
hm - power of establishment, agenda setting for economic gain
im - creating bread and circuses
news values
What topics are more likely to be reported - eg covid and death rates
Threshold - when news is interesting enough - eg missing white women syndrome
Proximity, continuity, frequency ect
agenda-setting
Gatekeepers decide which stories - editors and journalists select according to mental framework
Eg the coronation being glorified despite costing a lot of taxpayer money
Hegemonic marxism
gatekeepers
Those who make the decisions about which information to include as news
hierarchy of credibility
Those at the top of the hierarchy such as police have more credibility thus more power and influence in the media and news
Primary definers
For example police, the group or individual that first defines what has occurred - sources used by the news
Secondary definers
People who are viewed as less reliable and credible than primary definers - sources that provide the opinion of the people such as trade unions
Churnalism
Journalists no longer concerned about checking facts - become churnalists - passive processors of unchecked
Gatlung and Ruge
News values
Core set of values underpinning news - bureaucratic news values, cultural news values
Stories that include many newsworthy elements are more likely to be reported and the newsworthy elements likely to be emphasised
