Selection & Presentation Flashcards
(15 cards)
In a nutshell
News is manufactured based on news values, which are a specific set of criteria which makes a story ‘newsworthy’ enough to be published. In most cases, these news values reflect the desire to make profit by encouraging ratings, hits and circulation of stories. In addition to this, the selection and presentation of news is based on agenda-setting and norm-setting, both which reflect the interests of the media conglomerates.
MAKING A PROFIT
The source of the majority of profit in the media comes from advertising, which thereby explains the dependence on ratings, hits and circulation of media products.
Bagdikian
Bagdikian stresses the importance of advertising means news reports will be presented in a way that avoids offending advertisers, with some stories being cut off completely.
Curran et al
Curran et al argues there is a conservatism in the media, which tries to avoid too much criticism in the way society is organised. This means that minority opinion is under-represented in the media.
GLOBALISATION, NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CITIZEN JOURNALISM
Globalisation means there are a mass of news providers from across the globe to choose from. New technology such as Smartphones, Twitter and digital TV means that news is instantly available from practically anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.
CITIZEN JOURNALISM
New technology has created better opportunities for citizen journalism. Forms of new media (videos shot on a smartphone that can be uploaded to Twitter, Youtube etc.) means ordinary people are more involved in directly collecting, reporting and spreading news stories.
Bivens
Bivens argues that citizen journalism through mobile phone picture and videos at the scene of news events is transforming traditional journalism.
SETTING- AGENDA SETTING
People can only discuss and form opinions about things they know about, and in most cases it is the media which provide this information. The media’s influence in laying down the subjects for discussion is known as agenda-setting.
McCombs
McCombs argues that the media not only have influence over what we think about, but also how we think about certain subjects
NORM SETTING
Norm-setting refers to the way the media emphasise and reinforce conformity to social norms, and seek to isolate those who do not conform by making them victims of unfavourable media reports.
Norm setting is achieved by:
Encouraging conformist behaviour
Discouraging non-conformist behaviour
Media representations
NEWS VALUES AND NEWSWORTHINESS
Events that are reported in the news have been through a gatekeeping or filtering process, with journalists and editors deciding what is newsworthy. Journalists operate within the framework of news values. In this sense, news is a social construct.
Galtung and Ruge
Galtung and Ruge argue that newsworthy items include and play up the elements of a story which makes it more newsworthy. The importance of news values is also underpinned by the economic pressure of needing a profit.
ACTIONS OF JOURNALISTS
Becker argues that journalists operate within the hierarchy of credibility. This means they attach the greatest importance to the views of the powerful and influential individuals and groups.
CHURNALISM
Refers to the process of journalists uncritically churning out articles based on second-hand news agency reports based on pre-packaged material from press releases and other sources, rather than doing research themselves.
