The social construction of the News Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is the news ?
How most citizens find information
What are the two perspectives on the news?
News is an objective process: Journalists gather information based on news values.
News is socially constructed: Owners/Politicians/Spin doctors/public relations companies control the content of the news.
Statistics?
Ofcom - 75% of people indicated that TV is their most used platform of news.
Newspapers were used by 40% of the population
Radios 36% of the population.
Low amount of people read newspaper in the age bracket of 16-24. They get their news from online resources.
What does Benson argue ?
Social media sites may not be as revolutionary as they seem.
(Many websites would have used newspapers as their sources)
(Support idea that New media is not new it is a combination of old/new media).
What is the social construction of the news?
What counts as news is selected and processed/constructed by a range of social influences.
Journalists will decide what issues they will report as well as ones they want to ignore.
Therefore: The news can be biased to the producers views so may not be a complete honest picture.
Which Processes shape the media ?
Agenda setting
Norm setting
Gatekeeping
False reporting
What is Agenda setting ?
The media influence in laying down the list of subjects/agenda for the public discussion.
This gives those in charge of the media a great deal of power over society.
Therefore: Some subjects will not be discussed as the public never get informed about it.
What is norm setting?
Process where the mass media emphasise and reinforce conformity to social norms and isolate others who don’t conform.
This is done by encouraging conformist behaviour.
(No striking) (Being brave) (Helping others)
Discouraging non-conformist behaviour can help to reinforce stereotypes. (Gender) (Age) (Ethnicity)
What is Gatekeeping?
The media’s power to let some issues in and some kept out of the news.
News stories which are least present are those that damage values of the upper-class/when they are portrayed in a negative light.
Example of Gatekeeping
Coverage of strikes (W/C) is always reported in a negative light. (Hide what the capitalist system is doing to make them strike in the first place).
However, Disease/Injury causes in the work-place is rarely on the news despite causing more lost working hours. (Puts negative show for the upper-class).
The news has socially constructed us to be concerned/have a public concern about strikes and less about improving health/safety conditions.
What is False reporting?
May be other biases which are due to false-reporting/incorrect information.
This is a social construction as the media will do this to make the story more interesting for viewers generating more profit.
What are the effects of false-reporting ?
Can lead to a moral panic.
Cohen - A wave of moral concern happened when the news exaggerated the threat to society.
