Journalism and News Journalism The process by which citizens are presented the information they need to make good decisions in a democracy Normative model of within those frames news helps public make sense of important events journalism attempt to present information as objectively as possible w out bias Journalists should be fair independent accurate Journalists must have credibility with audience Advocacy journalism abandons objectivity presents info from a perspective To establish maintain credibility journalists 1 Seek out expert sources 2 Rely on official sources and documents 3 Seek out two sides to a story Leads to news routines that produce a pattern of news news gather info make narrative reports edited by news organizations offer select frames of research news helps the public make sense of certain events Gatekeeping process of deciding what is news what is newsworthy criteria for determining what info most worthy of transforming into stories evolving What is news News factors Timeliness Prominence powerful influential people Proximity events occurring close by Conflict Impact Human Interest extraordinary incidents that happen to ordinary people Deviance from normal consequence usefulness bizarre crimes notorious novelty deviance happening outside daily life rape fatal car crashes etc For broadcast news great visuals Journalism is a process news is a product commodity view pic online of process Perceptions of brand reputation Commodity most news media are for profit businesses so economics impacts process Important considerations for journalism Agenda setting framing agenda setting mass media determines topics of discussion for individuals in society Agenda setting function of the press Media don t tell us what to think they tell us what to think about McCombs and Shaw 1972 review in textbook Media agenda Topics covered prominently by press topics seen as important by people Topics ignored by press topics seen as unimportant by people agenda is highly correlated to the voters agenda determined the degree to which news media determines public opinions the more story the news media do on a particular subject the more importance audiences attach to that subject audience agenda 40 years of research supports this media effect Framing Which narratives or aspects of a story get prominence and which get ignored or downplayed think of it as branding a topic the way news talks about issues focuses our attention on that issue in a particular way and ignores or downplays other potential ways of displaying other issues Ex Estate tax or Death tax frank lutz does research for corproatiosn ans optiiciticlasn on the language of framing framing business estate tax tax paid on wealth estates before they go to the inheritors only applies to wealthy people about 75 of americans support it government waste or essential programs lutz said its a death tax 75 of americans against it flip just by changing the name of the policy immigration as ethical imperative or economic cost lots of framing happens unintentionally ex if an airline went on strike how would the media cover this would talk about the stranded people the damage it s causing many people traveling notice the impact on regular people talk about effects on consumers don t talk about why they are striking not intentionally Iyengar 1991 frames impact how audiences understand an issue episodic and thematic frames leads to people looking at probs thru lense of individual look at individuals to lead solutions rather than looking at bigger structural solutions individualism news focuses on personal triumphs fails to explain how large situations and organizations work or fail 20 years of research supports this conclusion we talk about things at diff versions of abstraction when talking about ingroups and outgroups tell the same story but change whether told in abstract way or concrete way News is a site for struggle over meaning news starts w sources and influencers news media producers reporters and editors news science media and agenda and frames news consumers citizens audiences agenda and frames sources try to influence media agenda which topics are covered prominently frames Important pressure now lack of credibility Credibility influenced by perceptions of expertise objectivity trying to get information out there so questions about frames and agenda setting hurt this honesty ditto press not seen as very believable fox news trusted and least trusted news source Another pressure facing journalists credibility Credibility of journalism attacked throughout past 60 years 1950s Red Scare Edward R Murrow vs Eugene McCarthy goodnight good luck tv newsman reporting during ww2 caused mccarthy to fall 1960s The Civil Right Movement The South vs The North Outside agitators Communists the Black Press apple didn t want things to change 1960s 1970s Vietnam Press vs Pentagon press had turned american public against war in vietnam 1970s Watergate Nixon vs The liberal Washington Post 1980s Press vs Reagan sort of Great Communicator said press against ronald reagan not true 1990s Lewinsky scandal Press vs Clinton rise of talk radio 2000s Iraq War Press vs GW Bush Criticisms 1 Giving a story too much or too little play agenda setting 2 Language used to describe story framing ignoring the story whether or not people focusing on the right things or not objectivity and balance balance presenting all sides of the story Problem Bias is in the eye of the beholder Selective perception particularly if that thing is ambiguous We tend to see things in ways that support our predispxositions often perceive what we are seeing in ways that we already believe Elite cue taking People take cues from elites they agree with is someone tells me w bias opinion Hostile media bias the more you identify w a particular group the more closely your view of yourself is tied to that group more likely you are to believe that that story is closer to their perspectives partisans tend to see news as hostile when covering their side but objective when covering the other side if they think something is intentionally against something ombudsman make an opinion agree whether its fair or not most of owners of press politically conservative publicists liberal bigger newspapers in bigger cities more likely to endorse liberals for things lot of perception of bias if see a story they fell i Example Journalism the Civil Rights Movement Herbert Gans cultural values of journalism ethnocentrism