Evaluate view news is socially constructed

Question 1

Hierarchy of credibility - Hall (1973)

Answer 1

E - Hall suggests the news is supportive of capitalist interests as those in powerful positions have more access to media.
E - Journalists report what prominent people say about events themselves - make ‘primary definers’ - a powerful group that has more access, minorities ignored by media.
E - Fiske - News values argue media selection is driven by audience appeal.

Question 2

Social background & media professionals - GUMG (1981)

Answer 2

E - GUMG argues the way news is gathered is a product of MC backgrounds.
E - This means journalists engage in what they want to include and exclude - ‘circuit of communication’ Philos & Miller (2008) identify four groups who take part: social & political, media, public and government.
E - Tumbler & Palmer argue media is now more diverse and market driven meaning there are many more perspectives and opinions o certain stories put out.

Question 3

Bureaucratic routines

Answer 3

E - Costs, deadlines and deal with audiences - concept of ‘news values’ to decide which events are considered newsworthy.
E - This means that news is a product of organisational precious. Journalist tend to favor stories that are easy to access and meet expectations of what is considered newsworthy such as drama. - Tuchman concept of news as a manufactured product meaning that journalist use beuracratic routines, like news values to organize chaos into manageable stories.
E - Hall (1978) argues this view ignores how these routines serve the powerful elites - benefit RC as media reinforces dominant ideology.

Question 4

Moral panic - Cohen (1972)

Answer 4

E - Cohen examined media coverage of mods and rockers in 1960s finding how the media exaggerated the level of violence between two youth subcultures.
E - This constructed a moral panic, acing as a social construction framing these groups as ‘folk devils’ - journalists selected specific incidents, amplified them in a way that fit pre existing narratives about youth.
E - McRobbie & Thornton (1995) argue this concept is less relevant today as in the modern media landscape with 24 hour news social media, an audience fragmentation it is harder for single narrative to dominate.