Journalism 1/26/15 10:03 PM Generational Divide • Older audiences prefer traditional brands • Younger audiences look to any news source Citizen Journalism • Peers or other individuals reporting and commenting on news • Blogger, social networking • How does this make you feel as a future journalist? What is News? • NEWS – current or fresh knowledge about an event or subject that is gathered, processes, and disseminated via a medium to a significant number of interested people • News media News Process 1. gather relevant facts or details selectively 2. prepare them into a story to be judged as noteworthy for a particular medium 3. transmit those accounts via mass medium 4. audience attends to and comprehends How representative is the news? • News process is limited • Agenda-setting • Which stories are chosen • Framing • How stories are presented, what information is left in and out • Does this happen on purpose? But Really, What Is News? • How do you tell the difference between what is noteworthy, and what is not? • Audience • Target audience plays a key role in what a medium reports • Ultimately, source is trying to attract audience• Source will report how and what they believe the audience wants How Are These Distinctions Made? • News reporting can be categorized: • Territories, topics, and organizations • Geographic territories • Local • Regional • National • International • Specialized topics • Politics • Economy • Science • Health • Sports • Weather • Fashion • Organizations • Local • Police department • City hall • National • Pentagon • Congress • White house • Time • Extension of the story through time • SPOT NEWS – stories that are one-time events • DEVELOPING – stories that occur in stages, over time, and are generated as the action unfolds • CONTINUING – ongoing series of related happenings • What is the difference? • Continuing stories have no clear beginning or ending • Drug use• Environmental issues • Hard news vs. soft news • HARD NEWS – time is important • Crime • Disaster • Economics • SOFT NEWS – time is unimportant • Human interest Where Do Facts Come From? • Personal reports • DIRECT OBSERVATION – reporter observes occurrence firsthand • REPORTS OF WHITNESSES – reporter gathers information from firsthand witnesses • EXPERTS – though likely not witnesses, these individuals are knowledgeable about this type of occurrence • Impersonal reports • NEWS RELEASE – a prepared handout provided to reporters by an organization to summarize an event • DOCUMENTS – reports, journals, studies, etc. • PUBLIC RECORDS – court records, property ownership, etc. How Are Facts Represented? • Reporter’s… • Unwitting errors • Biases • Misrepresentations of reality • Are these on purpose? • Generally, no • But issues can be purposefully slanted How Do We Send Out the News? • ENCODING – a story is broken down into its component parts, arranged, composed, stored, and disseminated according to the particular style and practices demanded of the story and the medium • News values• Format • Journalistic style News Values • News values help to determine newsworthiness • News must be interesting and understandable • News values help to decide what to print • What gets attention What Are These News Values? • IMPACT – how many people will be influenced by a story, and to what degree • TIMELINESS – stories must be on time • PROMINENCE – stories are more popular when they feature prominent figures in the public eye • PROXIMITY – stories are more newsworthy when they take place here • THE BIZARRE – odd or peculiar events are more newsworthy • CONFLICT – conflict breeds drama • CURRENCY – more value is attributed to stories in the spotlight of public concern • These do not always have to be followed Story Formats • The five w’s • Inverted pyramid • Most important ideas should appear first • Article resembles an inverted pyramid • Most important information covers the top • Interviews, etc. comes next • Additional information at the bottom Why Inverted Pyramid? • People pay most attention to… • Headlines • Lead sentences • First paragraph• What does an inverted pyramid lead us to expect? • Do people only read the beginning because that’s the only place they will find useful information? Radio and Television News Formats • Seen and heard, not read • Radio formats • Have the ability to use sound of actual event • Television formats • Have ability to use sound and visual • Word story • Anchor is behind desk telling what happened • VO (voice-over) • Viewer sees anchor, then switches to video with anchor’s voice over the picture • Stand-Up • A reporter in the field, who comments on the scene • Stand-Up With Package • Reporter interviewing someone at the scene Ethics • Prominence of reports of suicide has been linked with amounts of suicide and single-person car crashes • Is someone of prominence commits suicide, is it ethical to report on it? Journalistic Styles • A particular set of facts can be combined into a news story in a variety of different ways Sensational or Tabloid Journalism • Popular in early papers • Never really went away • Stresses shocking details, bizarre events, and sometimes appalling transgressions of the social norms • Sex, drugs, and rock & rollObjective or Impartial Journalism • Three aims: • Separating fact from opinion • Presenting an emotionally detached view of the news • Striving for fairness and balance • Predictable form of journalism • Can this really be achieved? • Can this help society deal with issues? • Several alternatives grew from a distrust of media and flourish today • However, fairness and balance is still dominant Critical, Interpretive Journalism • Type of journalism that is heavy in criticism • Critical of facts, opinions, sources, etc. • Reporters will correct a source • Reporters openly challenge sources Literary or New Journalism • Style reliant on rich description • Used various tools for description • Scene setting • Extended dialogue • Point of view • Interior