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| Definitions of Globalization International Monetary Fund -The growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services, free international capital flows, and more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology.
International Forum on Globalization - The present worldwide drive toward a globalized economic system dominated by supranational corporate trade and banking institutions that are not accountable to democratic processes or national governments.
Agents of the Globalization of Media
Multinational Conglomerates - Operate media outlets in multiple countries, with no “home” base.
Internet - Brings together news, information and community discussion from across the globe.
News Agencies - Deliver news to a global audience. (AP, Reuters, AFP)
Video News Services - Deliver video to a global audience. (AP, Reuters)
Issues Related to Globalization of Media
Cultural Subversiveness - The globalization of media will create a homogenous global culture that will endanger local cultures.
Corporate Ideology - The global media conglomerates have no culture but their own, a profit-driven ideology (Snow Crash)
Cultural Imperialism - Globalization has resulted in Western media being exported to Developing Countries, in effect exporting Western Culture around the world.
Characteristics of the US Press
First Amendment is the Foundation of press-government relations
:”The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing”
”Watchdog” of government
Owned by private companies, not the government.
English is the primary language
Journalism in China
Traditionally, the press is part of the government
Beginning in the 1980s, the press enjoyed more freedom.
Many non-official publications have emerged which are more likely to serve as watchdogs
TV is more closely monitored than print
Chinese journalists have broken stories about SARS, and about a toxic spill in the Songhua River., which affected millions of people living in cities like Harbin
News Media in China
Official Media - Associated with the government or the Chinese Communist Party. Ex: The People's Daily or Xinhua.
Media within the sphere of government and Party influence. Survival dependent on being profitable. Ex: China Industry & Business Times or China Economic Times.
”Fringe” Media - Not associated with government. Survival dictated by the market. Subject to government regulation.
Hu Shuli
“[I]n China, reporting on business and finance is much more exciting and practical than reporting on politics. While business and finance constitute the motivating force pushing our society forward, they are less taboo than politics in China. We are thus able to go beyond what falls into the narrow definition of business and finance, and can indulge ourselves in covering business-related issues such as SARS. --Hu Shuli, founder of Caljing Magazine.
Read a fascinating interview with Hu Shuli here. Hu was named top international editor in 2003 by World Press Review.
Danwei TV Interview with Chinese Magazine Mogul Hong Huang
In this fascinating interview, Hong Huang, publisher of Time Out Beijing and other popular magazines in China, discusses the magazine distribution system in China.
Where Do Chinese Get Their News?
TV reaches more than 80% of the country
93% of literate people watch TV every day, on average
64% of literate people read newspapers every day
11.2% of the population use the Internet
SARFT - State Admin of Radio, Film and Television
SARFT sets the agenda of Chinese TV, radio and film.
SARFT determines which TV shows get produced.
Danwei.org follows Chinese media:
http://www.danwei.org/media_and_advertising/approved_and_rejected_tv_shows.php
Filmmakers who want funding and appropriate permissions for filming must get SARFT approval.
SARFT has recently started to adopt more market-driven policies.
CCTV - Chinese TV System
Channel 1: General News
Channel 2: Business
Channel 3: Arts
Channel 4: International (Chinese language)
Channel 5: Sports
Channel 6: Movies
Channel 7: Military and Agriculture (runs kids' programs during the afternoon)
Channel 8: Dramatic series
Channel 9: International (English)
Channel 10: Education
Channel 11: Peking Opera
Channel 12: Society and Law
Local TV stations also produce programming.
Some independent foreign TV services (Sky TV) are also available. | |
|
| The Fourth Estate The term "Fourth Estate" has been used to characaterize the press since shortly after the invention of the Gutenberg printing press. In Europe, the "Estates" referred to the stratafication of power in society. The Clergy was the First Estate, and held the most power; the Nobility was the second estate; the "people" or the masses, made up the Third Estate. Historian Thomas Carlyle used the term "Fourth Estate"in 1841 to describe the reporters who covered the activites of the English Parliament. In the United States, the term "Fourth Estate" has come to take on the meaning of a fourth "branch" of government - The Executive, the Legislative, the Judicial and the Press as the fourth - emphasizing the watchdog nature of the press in this country. As Kovich and Rosenstiel said: The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing.Media & 2004 ElectionThe 2004 election is a particularly interesting case study of how media influences governance, and vice-versa, because so many new and tried-and-true techniques of media messages and media manipulation were brought in to play by the press, by politicians, by special interest groups. The 2004 election was a media frenzy perhaps because of the nature of the hotly contested 2000 presidential election. The media elements that came out included Documentaries like Fahrenheit 911 Books like Unfit for Command Blogs and Bloggers - The 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions were the first to allow bloggers to register and attend as members of the press. Negative Ads and Attack Ads Internet Memes Fahrenheit 911 Michael Moore's documentary, released in June, 2004, was a scathing account of George W. Bush's actions just before and after the attacks on September 11, 2001. 
Click here to view clips from Fahrenheit 911Unfit for CommandIn August, 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth responded by publishing a book, Unfit for Command, a scathing attack on the war record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in September, 2004.
 |
Kerry, who skippered two Swift Boats in the Mekong Delta from Dec. 6, 1968, to March 17, 1969, often sported a home-movie camera to record his exploits for later viewing. Fellow "Swiftees" report that Kerry would revisit ambush locations for re-enacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero. Kerry would take movies of himself in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits. A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns. |
Blogs The 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions were the first conventions to invite bloggers to participate as part of the press corps covering the events. See an interview with the RedState.org bloggers at the Republican National Convention here. However, perhaps the most important blogging incident was what became known as Rathergate, where Dan Rather and CBS News' Sixty Minutes aired a segment on September 8, 2004, featuring memos that criticized George W. Bush's service in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam Era. The memos were supposedly written by the late Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, Bush's supervisor in the Texas National Guard. CBS aired the story and released the documents on the Web. Within hours, politically conservative blogs like PowerLine and Little Green Footballs had declared that the memos were fake, based on the use of typographical elements, such as footnotes, that would not have been available on typewriters in the 1970s. 
This animation compares the memos as published by CBS with the same text typed using the default settings of Microsoft Word's 2004 edition. The text is identical, which would be impossible if MS Word 2004 had not been used to create the CBS memos.Negative Ads and Attack AdsNegative ads are any political advertisements that focus on the negative qualities of a candidate for office, and encourage viewers to vote for the opponent by virtue of the fact that he or she does not have the qualities shown in the negative ads. Attack ads, in contrast, attack the personal or political background of political candidates, and do not directly associate the opposing candidate with the ad. While the 2004 election featured a great many negative and attack ads, negative ads have been with us for a long time. The most famous of the earlier ads is known as the Daisy Ad. 
Click here to watch the Daisy ad.The Daisy Ad was aired only once during the 1964 election campaign between President Lyndon B. Johnson and his opponent, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater. In 1964 the US was still in the grips of the Cold War, and average citizens were worried about the possibility of a nuclear war. The purpose of the ad was to imply that Barry Goldwater was such a "war hawk" that the nation could not trust him *not* to use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union. Although the ad was only aired once, it was so controversial that it is considered to have been a factor in Johnson's defeat of Goldwater. Ads from the 2004 Presidential CampaignBoth sides engaged in negative and attack ad campaigns in 2004. Ads by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attempted to discredit John Kerry's Vietnam War record. Ads created by Moveon.org criticzed the Bush Administration on several levels. Internet MemesThe number of media pieces created about the 2004 election that made the rounds on the Internet were almost too numerous to count. Here's one of the best ones. 
Click here to see Jib-Jab's This Land!THE PRESS AND COVERAGE OF THE GOVERNMENTSo What's the Bottom Line? Media Influence on GovernanceThe Media do not tell people what to think, the media tell people what to think about. This is called Agenda Setting. There have been several movies about the role of the press as government watchdog that led the American public to change the issues that they talked about. The most famous are: Good Night and Good Luck - Edward R. Murrow takes on Joseph McCarthy
All the President's Men - The Washington Post takes on the Nixon Administration
In recent years, the press has played an important role in putting stories like these on the national agenda:
The Civil Rights movement
The Iran-Contra hearings
The Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal
The Enron scandal
Emphasis of Media Coverage
The President - The public likes stories about people. The press uses the President as a way to talk about national stories.
Conflict - The public likes conflict. Conflict illustrates issues that Society is reevaluating.
Scandals - In 1972 policy stories outweighed scandal stories 13:1. In 1992 it was 3:1.
Polls - Public opinion polls position everything in defined categories.
Brevity - Limited time and space reduce depth of coverage.
Government Manipulation of Media
Timing - Release of major events on slow news days, or to distract attention from other news
Leaks - A deliberate disclosure of confidential or classified information by someone who wants to advance public interest, embarrass someone, or disclose incompetence and skullduggery.
Trial Balloons - A deliberate leak of a potential policy to test public opinion.
Stonewalling - Refusing to answer questions or meet the press.
News Blackout - Policy forbidding news coverage of an event.
News Coverage of National Government
White House - Most frequently covered. The President stands in as the focus of many stories about the Federal government.
Congress - Focuses mostly on House and Senate leadership. Coverage of hearings and testimonies. Reliance on press releases from Committees. Regional reporters focus on issues of interest to their state.
Agencies - Little regular coverage by popular press. Good trade press coverage. Ex: Broadcasting & Cable covers FCC.
Courts - Only 14 news organizations with full-time reporters.
News Coverage of State and Local Government
New Federalism - More social services and more Federal money now controlled at state level. Ex: Education, prisons, welfare.
Increase in State & Local Government power over citizen lives has not resulted in an increase in news coverage
Lobbying efforts have greatly increased at State and Local level.
Newspapers cover local and state governments more completely than other media.
Readers generally respect local newspaper coverage more than local radio or TV coverage of state & local government.
Media-Government Issues
Conflict of Interest - Conglomerates and other high-profile businesses influence policy, and individual government workers may receive benefits from businesses. Ex: Enron and Energy Policy.
Campaign Advertising - While outspending rivals on ads does not guarantee victory, ad campaigns do make a difference in elections.
Free Airtime - Candidate appearances on local or national talk shows. Media coverage of Photo Opportunities and Pseudo Events.
Regulation of Political Content
Broadcasting - Equal Time Rule. Fairness Doctrine (now defunct)
Print - Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that government could potentially make a case to suppress information (prior restraint) on the grounds of national security.
Internet - Unregulated. Still subject to civil suits for libel and invasion of privacy. | |
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| Advertising & the Economy Ad expenditures = 2% of US GDP
Economic growth = growth in ad spending
Strong economy = more jobs, more disposable income, more products, more ads
Economies where basic goods are scarce do not have advertisements.
Ads exist in economies where there are choices among products, and may serve as vehicles for product comparison.
Largest US Advertisers 2003
General Motors - $3.7 billion
Time-Warner - $2.9 billion
Procter & Gamble - $2.7 billion
Pfizer - $2.6 billion
Ford - $2.3 billion
Daimler-Chrysler - $2 billion
Disney - $1.8 billion
Johnson & Johnson - $1.8 billion
Sears - $1.7 billion
Advertising Milestones
1468 - First printed ad (flyer) promotes a book
1704 - First newspaper advertisements in Boston News-Letter
1833 - The New York Sun
1869 - Ayer & Son, first ad agency
1914 - Congress establishes FTC to combat false and unfair advertising
1960s - Network TV surpasses magazines as national advertising medium
Ayer & Son</strong>
Merchants recognized value of ads, but did not want to spend time creating them
Wayland Ayer created a service company to create ads and place them in publications
Ayer & Son was based in Philadelphia
Top Global Ad Organizations 2003
Omnicom (US) - $7.5 billion
Interpublic (US) - $6.2 billion
WPP (UK) - $5.8 billion
Publicis (France) - $2.7 billion
Dentsu (Japan) - $2.1 billion
Havas (France) - $1.8 billion
Ad Agency Labor Structure
Creative - copywriters, graphic designers, illustrators, layout specialists
Liaison - Account Executives act as liaison between client and creative to develop campaigns
Purchasing - Media Buyers purchase ad space in different publications
Research - conduct market research
Newspaper Advertising
Readers take newspaper ads more seriously than other ads
When consumers are ready to buy, they more often turn to newspaper ads to help them make decisions
Newspaper readers are older, better educated, more affluent
Newspapers are less effective at reaching younger audiences
Magazine Advertising
Colorful, glossy magazine ads have higher impact than newspaper ads
Magazines stay in the home longer than newspapers
Pass-Along Circulation - people share magazines
Magazines reach niche audiences
Lead time for placing ads is long - 3 months or so
Radio Advertising
Radio reaches niche audiences
Radio ads are relatively inexpensive
Lead time for placing radio ads is very short
Ads can be modified up to the last minute before airing
Radio is a mobile medium
People do not pay close attention to radio.
TV Advertising
Audio-visual images of TV ads leave a lasting impact
TV ads reach a diverse mass audience
Production costs of TV ads is high
Air time is expensive
Ad clutter = TV ads are getting shorter, more TV ads are airing
Online Advertising
Online advertising reaches niche audiences
A lot more information about a product can be presented
Product information can be layered
Orders can be placed immediately
Audience must have computer, modem, Internet access to view ads
Advertising Strategies
Branding - differentiates essentially similar products
Unique Selling Proposition - create a product benefit, even if nonsense, and repeat
Positioning - appeal to a specific segment of the audience
Redundancy - Repeatedly restating an advertising message in different media
Product Placement - Prominently displaying a branded product within non-advertising programmng
Infomercials - Half-hour (or longer) news/infotainment spots dedicated to selling a product
Advertising Industry Regulation
National Advertising Review Council - ad industry self-monitoring organization. Reviews complaints from everyone. If advertisers do not respond to complaints, passes information to government.
American Association of Advertising Agencies - Code of advertising
Government Regulation - Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Communications Commission
American Assoc. of Advertising Agencies Code
No false, misleading statements or exaggerations, visual or verbal, including misleading price claims
No testimonials from unknowledgeable people.
No unfair disparagement of competitive products
No distorted or insufficiently supported claims
Nothing offending public decency
Challenges Facing Advertisements
Ad Clutter
Creative Excess - Award winning vs. effective ads
Advertising Effectiveness - Recent studies show that ads are not as effective as once thought.
Celebrity Endorsement - Only 3% of people say celebrity endorsement would lead them to try a product.
All Things Considered discussion of challenges to TV advertising
Adbusters magazine criticizing advertising and consumer culture | |
|
| Radio Timeline1895 - Guglielmo Marconi transmits first radio message
1906 - Lee De Forest creates audio tube that transmits voice over radio
1920 - KDKA Pittsburgh is the first commercial radio station
1927 - Congress creates the Federal Radio Communications Commissioan (FRC) to regulate radio
1934 - FRC becomes FCC
1939 - First FM station
1967 - Congress creates the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to create a national noncommercial radio system
History of Radio Programming
Early 1920s - Hotel“Potted palm” music, public speeches
Later 1920s - Pre-recorded music, news, early narrative programming
1930s - Syndicated comedy, drama and soap operas
1950s - Shift to music formats
1980s - Shift to niche formats
Listening to the Radio
Radio Qualities
Mobile Medium
Niche market medium
More people listen to radio drive time than tune in to TV for prime time
However, all radio stations have less in common than all TV stations
Content, advertising and audience in radio are all derived from a station’s programming format.
The Radio Audience
More than 98% of US households have radio
Radio reaches more than 95% of Americans 12+ each week
Radio reaches 99% of teens weekly
Average listener spends 22 hours per week listening to radio
A radio station’s audience is mostly determined by its format.
Time Spent Listening by Age
Radio Listenership
Weekday listenership peaks at 7am
Weekday listenership holds steady between 9am-4pm
Listenership drops off after 4pm
Men listen more than women
Men 25-34 listen most
Radio Dayparts
Radio programming is affected by the time of day that the programming airs. Different kinds of listeners are available at different times of day.
Morning Drive Time - 6am-10am - Commuters want news, weather, traffic
Midday - 10am-3pm - Homemakers want music and information
Afternoon Drive Time - 3pm-7pm - Teens return home and want entertainment, commuters want entertainment and news
Evening - 7pm-Midnight - Audience desires entertainment and relaxation
Overnight - Midnight - 6am - Shift workers, college students seek entertainment,
People seeking companionship
Radio Station Programming Formats
Radio stations depend on their format to determine their programming content, the audience they hope to reach and the advertisers they want to attract.
News/Talk Listenership Is Rising Among All Age Groups
Top Radio Chains
Clear Channel - 1,190 stations, 136 news stations
Cumulus – 303 stations, 33 news stations
Citadel – 225 stations, 24 news stations
Infinity – 178 stations, 19 news stations
Educational Media Foundation – 143 stations, 0 news stations
Salem – 104 stations, 22 news stations
American Family Association – 120 stations, 0 news stations
Entercom – 103 stations, 14 news stations (based in Bala Cynwyd)
Saga – 86 stations, 13 news stations
Cox – 78 stations, 6 news stations
TELEVISION
Impact of Television
67% of US households have 2 or more TVs
63% of US households receive 30 or more channels
TV is the main source of news for 70% of the US public
The average household views 7 hours, 12 minutes of TV daily every day
TV changed US lifestyles, as more spare time was spent with TV, less at civic or social gatherings
Impact of TV on Other Media
Newspapers - TV took away most national advertisers from newspapers
Magazines - TV took away most national advertisers from magazines, forcing magazines to serve niche audiences instead of more generalized mass audiences
Movies - TV forced the movie industry to focus on improved production qualities (color, surround sound) to compete with TV programming
Radio - TV forced radio out of the narrative content programming business and into niche markets like music
TV Timeline
1927 - Philo Farnsworth develops picture tube
1939 - RCA demos TV at NY World’s Fair
1947 - CBS begins first TV newscast
1951 - I Love Lucy
1975 - HBO delivered via satellite for cable TV
1976 - WTBS delivered via satellite for cable
1986 - Fox Network, first “fourth” network
2009 - Scheduled switchover to digital TV in US
I Love Lucy – 1951
First pre-recorded serial TV program
First program to use multiple cameras in production
First program to feature an “interracial” couple - advertisers were initially wary
First TV series to be filmed in LA
Became the most popular sitcom of its day
Because they held the rights to the show, Lucy & Desi became the first multi-millionaire TV stars
Broadcast TV Programming
Broadcast TV aims for a general audience
Broadcast TVand schedules programming to reach the greatest number of people who are available to view.
Radio, by contrast, reaches a niche audience via its format.
Broadcast television is the last mass medium
TV Dayparts
Early Morning (6am-9am) - Children, homemakers, adults getting ready for work, retirees.
Morning (9am-12pm) - Preschoolers, homemakers, retirees, shift workers
Afternoon (12pm-4pm) - Morning audience plus working adults who come home for lunch, children returning from school
Early Fringe (4pm-6pm) - Return of most working adults begins
Early Evening (6pm-7pm) - In most markets, all segments of the audience are home
Prime Access (7pm-8pm) - All audience segments are available to view
Network Prime Time (8pm-11pm) - Everyone but children, retirees, and people who have to get up early
Late Fringe - (11pm-11:35pm) - Mostly adults
Late Night (11:35pm-2:05am) - Mostly adults
Overnight (2:05am-6am) - Mostly shift workers
Evening News Viewership (ABC, NBC, CBS) Is Declining
Young People Are Not Watching the TV Evening News
TV News Show Formats
Evening Newscasts - World News Tonight
Sunday Interviews - Meet the Press
Newsmagazines - 60 Minutes
Documentary - CNN Presents, Frontline
Morning Shows - Good Morning, America
Talk Shows - “Inside Story,” “Puerto Rico Panorama” mostly local
Tabloid News - Entertainment Tonight
Broadcast TV: Network Affiliates
Network provides most of daily program content
Network compensates affiliate for carrying programs, increasing revenues
Network programs attract large audiences
Networks provide plenty of promotion
New competition (cable, satelite, Internet, etc.) makes network relationship less valuable
CABLE
Cable TV
More than 11,000 cable systems
Almost 97% of US households are able to access cable TV
About 67% of those households actually do subscribe to cable TV (penetration)
About 66 million households subscribe to cable
About 48 million households subscribe to premium cable services
Cable audience share has been rising as broadcast audience share has been dropping
Cable TV Regulation
Franchising is to cable TV what the licensing process is to broadcast
FCC governs broadcasting regulations.
Local governments (plus some specific bills passed by Congress and monitored by the FCC) govern cable franchising process
Top Cable Operators by Number of Household Subscribers
Comcast - 21 million
Time Warner - 11 million
Charter - 6 million
Cox - 6 million
Adelphia - 5 million
All-News Cable Channels
Fox News - 881,000 daily viewers
CNN - 480,000 daily viewers
MSNBC - 232,000 daily viewers
CNN Headline News - 194,000 daily viewers
CNBC - 165,000 daily viewers
The Prime Time Cable TV News Audience Is Growing
But Cable TV News Viewership Is a Tiny Fraction of Network News Viewership
Digital TV Switchover
Many stations are now broadcasting digitally.
Many cable systems are now digital and carry local digital stations. Ex: Ch. 246.
All must broadcast digitally by February 17, 2009
Most TVs will need a converter to receive DTV programming.
DTV stations may broadcast four SDTV (standard definition) programs or one HDTV (high definition) program
16x9 aspect ratio, surround sound and HDTV are all part of the DTV specification
Data may be embedded within DTV signal, creating “interactive” broadcast TV programming
US Broadcasting Regulation
Scarcity Principle - Defunct as of 1987
Trusteeship Rationale - The airwaves are public property and broadcast licensees must serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”
Ownership Regulation - Greatly reduced in 1996. No one company may reach more than 50% of the nation’s population
Content Regulations - Radio and TV content is more regulated than print content
US Broadcasting Content Regulation
Equal Opportunity - Broadcasters must allow all legally qualified candidates for political office the same opportunity to air ads
False Advertising - Regulated by the FTC
Obscenity, Indecency, Profanity - In 1987, FCC defined indecency as “language or material that depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs.”
Contemporary community standards are now those of the average broadcast viewer or listener
Satellite radio, satellite TV and audio-visual content of the Internet is largely unregulated. | |
|
| Influence of Magazines on USMagazines were first US national mass medium
American culture was first identified and disseminated through magazines
Advertisers used magazines to build national markets.
The growth of national markets and national culture transformed US from agricultural economy to industrial economy.
In the 1950s, television took over as the leading mass market vehicle for national advertising
First US Magazines
Philadelphians Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Bradford printed the first magazines in the American colonies.
1741 - Franklin publishes General Magazines.
1758 - Bradford printed and sold American Magazine at the corner of Front and Market Streets..
US Magazine Firsts
1821 - Saturday Evening Post becomes first national, general-interest magazine
1828 - Ladies’ Magazine is the first women’s magazine. Later becomes Godey’s Lady’s Book.
1860s - Harper’s Weekly introduces visual news with Civil War photography
1905 - National Geographic introduces photographs in magazines
Saturday Evening Post
Published 1821-1969. Is now published sporadically
Norman Rockwell did cover illustrations from 1916-1963
Featured stories by John Steinbeck, Louis L’amour, Rex Stout, Ray Bradbury and others
Godey’s Lady’s Book
Ladies’ Magazine was the first US women’s magazine. Sarah Hale was the editor.
In 1837, Philadelphian Joseph Godey bought Ladies’ Magazine and merged with Godey’s Lady’s Book.
Godey’s Lady’s Book was published 1830-1898. By 1860, circulation was 150,000.
Magazine featured literature, poetry, fashion and homemaking advice.
Magazine advocated education and teaching jobs for women.
The Second Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln.
See More Harper’s Weekly illustrations from the Civil War here:
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/the-civil-war.htm
Harper’s Weekly
Published in New York, 1857-1916
1860 circulation: 200,000
Pioneered use of illustrations, particularly during Civil War
Thomas Nast, pioneer of political caricature, worked for Harpers
National Geographic
Started by Alexander Graham Bell’s father-in-law.
Bell took over in 1898. Made Gilbert Grosvenor editor.
Magazine was funded by Society membership.
In 1905, published an issue with 11 photographs.
In 1910 pioneered the use of color photographs.
Editorial Innovations of Magazines
Investigative reporting and “muckracking” in magazines such as McClure’s and Collier’s
Personality profiles in magazines like The New Yorker, Playboy, Rolling Stone
Photojournalism in magazines like National Geographic, Life
US Magazine Readership
12,000 magazines published for US audience
90% of US adults read 10 or more magazines per month
People with more education and higher incomes tend to read more magazines
500 to 600 new magazines launched every year
Four out of five new magazines fail
US Magazine – Tops in Circulation
Parade Magazine - 35.4 million
AARP The Magazine - 20 million
Reader’s Digest - 11 million (US only)
TV Guide - 9 million
Better Homes & Gardens - 7.6 million
National Geographic - 6.7 million
Good Housekeeping - 4.6 million
Family Circle - 4.6 million
Time - 4.1 million
Consumer Magazines
Consumer magazines are often mass-market, general-interest magazines
Circulation leaders - Reader’s Digest, AARP
Newsmagazines - Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report
Sunday Newspaper Supplements - Parade, USA Weekend
Women’s Magazines - Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping
Men’s Magazines - Esquire, Playboy
Trade Magazines
Trade magazines are usually dedicated to a profession or industry
Billboard, Broadcasting and Cable, W
Some trade magazines cover their industries as independent journalists
Some trade magazines are simply industry boosters who reprint press releases.
Magazine Demassification
The hey-day of mass-circulation general interest magazines ended around 1960
National television advertising was a cheaper way to reach more people than national magazine advertising.
Today only a few mass-circulation general interest magazines survive: Reader’s Digest
Magazines reinvented themselves by catering to niche markets. Motor Trend, Gourmet
Advertisers will pay more money to reach specifically targeted groups.
Largest Circulation Magazines Are Not Tops in Ad Revenue
People Magazine - $1.2 billion (3.6 million circulation)
Sports Illustrated - $919 million (3.3 million)
TV Guide - $905 million (9.0 million)
Time - $836 million (4.1 million)
Better Homes & Gardens - $707 million (7.6 mil)
Parade - $608 million (35 million)
Reader’s Digest - $606 million (11 million)
Newsweek - $545 million (3.2 million)
Good Housekeeping - $447 million (4.6 million)
New Competition
Magazines face increased competition from cable TV channels that are also becoming more specialized. Food Network, OLN, ESPN
Satellite Radio is the first of the digital broadcasting outlets to become specialized. Bluegrass Channel, Martha Stewart Channel
Some Web publications are gaining ground. Salon, NYTimes.com
Most magazine subscribers will not pay for content on magazine Web sites.
Trends in Magazines
The fragmentation of the TV audience may create new opportunities for mass-market general-interest magazines.
TiVO and other devices that let TV viewers skip the ads may make advertisers a more attractive option for advertisers.
Grocery store sales of magazines are down, partly because people now make fewer trips to the store because they go to SuperStores.
Point-of-sale technology allows magazine publishers to more accurately predict the number of magazines to ship to each store.
Newsmagazines
While magazine readership is up, circulation of news magazines is down
Younger people are not reading newsmagazines
Celebrity "news" coverage is growing
Newsmagazine Readers Are Getting Older
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Readers Are Getting News from Other Sources
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Rise of Celebrity "News" Journalism
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Poll #776160
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14
How often do you read news magazines like Time, Newsweek and US News and World Report?
View Answers
| Once a week or more |
   1 (7.1%) |
| More than once a month |
| 1 (7.1%) |
| Once a month |
| 3 (21.4%) |
| A few times a year |
| 7 (50.0%) |
| Rarely |
| 1 (7.1%) |
| Never |
| 1 (7.1%) |
Poll #776161
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15
How often do you read celebrity magazines like Us and People?
View Answers
| Once a week or more |
| 4 (26.7%) |
| More than once a month |
| 1 (6.7%) |
| Once a month |
| 2 (13.3%) |
| A few times a year |
| 5 (33.3%) |
| Rarely |
| 2 (13.3%) |
| Never |
| 1 (6.7%) |
| |
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| Largest US NewspapersUSA Today - 2.2 million subscribers
Wall Street Journal - 1.8 million
New York Times - 1.1 million
LA Times - 955,000
Washington Post - 733,000
NY Daily News - 732,000
NY Post - 652,000
Chicago Tribune - 614,000
Newspapers vs TV
$44.1 billion daily advertising revenue from newspapers, compared to $42.1 billion for television
Newspapers offer depth of coverage, TV news offers immediacy
Newspaper Business
In the 50 largest metropolitan areas, more than 50% of the population read a newspaper every day.
Newspapers continue to be extremely profitable
The profitability of newspapers has led to chain (conglomerate) ownership
Top Newspaper Chains 2005
Gannett - 82 daily newspapers, 5.5 million daily circulation,
Knight-Ridder - 32 daily newspapers, 3.6 million*
Newhouse - 26 daily newspapers, 2.9 million
Tribune Company - 30 daily newspapers , 52.million
Dow Jones - 8 newspapers, 2.4 million
New York Times - 26 daily newspapers, 1.7 million daily circulation
*McClatchy purchased the Knight-Ridder chain in 2006, but will sell some holdings.
Newspaper Chains: Pros
Some chains emphasize excellence in journalism (New York Times), and have the finances to support it.
Most chains have a reputation for running “fair and balanced” newspapers that are profitable but offer undistinguished news coverage.
Newspaper Chains: Cons
Chain ownership focuses on profitability above all. Newspaper is a financial investment.
Focus on profitability keeps reporter salaries low and increases turnover in the newsroom
Newspapers under chain ownership cut staff to trim costs, which reduces the number of reporters who can cover the news
Chain owners do not live in the communities where the newspapers are located, and do not share a sense of civic duty
Local newspaper managers are often brought in from the corporate office and do not stay
Types of Newspapers
National Dailies
Metropolitan Dailies
Hometown Dailies
Community Weeklies
Shoppers
Counter-Culture Newspapers
Gay Newspapers
Black Press
Foreign-Language Newspapers
National Dailies
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
Christian Science Monitor
The New York Times
Metropolitan Dailies
Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Philadelphia Inquirer
Boston Globe
Chicago Tribune
Hometown Dailies
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gettysburg Times
Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Asbury Park Press
New Castle News
Community Weeklies
Venice Gondolier
MainLine Times
Chester County Press
The Coast Star
Princeton Town Topics
Alternative, Gay, Black, Foreign Language
The Village Voice - Alternative
The Advocate - Gay
Philadelphia Tribune – Black Press
Al Dia – Foreign Language
Newspaper Business Trends
Newspapers are extremely profitable
Technology has enabled cost reduction
Readership is declining
Younger people don’t read newspapers
Ad revenues are strong, but growth in advertising revenues is declining
Hometown papers are more financially attractive than large metropolitan papers
Newspaper Ad Revenues are Strong
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
But Growth in Newspaper Ad Revenues is Stalling
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Newspaper Readership is Down
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Young People Are Less Likely to Read Newspapers
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
The Philadelphia Inquirer: A Case Study in Newspaper Finance
The Philadelphia Inquirer was owned by the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain. The Inquirer was the most profitable newspaper in the Knight-Ridder chain. Under pressure from Knight-Ridder shareholders, the company sold its 32 newspapers to the McClatchy company. McClatchy, in turn, is selling 12 of these newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, because, although the newspapers are profitable, they are not growing in size and revenue. Growth is important to chains like McClatchy because they view their purchase as an investment, which they may sell again later for more money. If a newspaper is not growing in readership or revenues, it cannot later be sold for substantially more than its purchase price.
You can read the fascinating story about the sale of the Philadelphia Inquirer here.
On May 23, 2006, it was announced that a group of Philadelphia-area businessmen were purchasing the Inquirer and the Daily News. You can read about the new owners of the Inquirer here.
Major Trends in Newspapers 2006
More news outlets are covering fewer stories
Big-city metropolitan newspapers may be the most endangered newspapers
Most mainstream media outlets now put profitability ahead of journalism
Most mainstream media outlets are finally embracing the Internet and other technology platforms
The top economic issue in journalism is how long it will take online news sources to become profitable or at least viable.
When ad dollars are spent online, newspapers earn 20 to 30 cents on the dollar spent in the print edition.
Source: The State of the News Media 2006
Source: The State of the News Media 2006 | |
|
| What Is Ethics?Ethics is a philosophy of what is right and acceptable behavior.
Ethics can be thought of as promoting fair play, even for those we dislike.
Ethics is ultimately a personal code and a personal choice.
Situational ethics is the practice of judging a situation on the basis of the good that will likely come from a particular course of action (the ends justify the means)
The Law and Ethics
Law and ethics are intertwined. Often, actions that are unethical are also illegal.
Laws are enforced by an external authority, usually by means of penalties.
Ethics are rules of conduct imposed upon individuals by themselves or by their peers.
Few penalties exist for violations of ethical behavior.
Contract with the Public: One View of Ethics
Journalists have a kind of contract with the public to cover the news
Journalists who are perceived to be unfair or biased may be abandoned by the public.
Sources, employers and other journalists may bring sanctions against unethical journalists
“To be believable, a journalist must be credible.” --Walter Cronkite.
Case Study 1: Undercover Video
To show how easy it is for minors to buy alcohol, a news organization sends a 19-year-old into a couple of liquor stores. The reporters record video of the purchases through the store windows with a long lens from a van across the street. The reporters then walk into the stores with cameras rolling to interview the clerks.
Poll #776155
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22
Should the news team use the video of the clerk?
Case Study 2: Violence on the News
A journalist is photographing a federal informer as he walks along a courthouse hallway between two marshals. Suddenly a man steps from a telephone booth and shoots the informer dead. The journalist captures the event on video.
Poll #776156
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19
Should the news organization show the murder on the evening news?
View Answers
| Yes |
| 6 (31.6%) |
| No |
| 11 (57.9%) |
| Not sure |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| Only if a competing station shows the video first |
| 0 (0.0%) |
Case Study 3:National Security
A truck carrying nuclear warheads overturns on a highway in your area. The Defense Dept. prohibits any photographers at the scene on the grounds of safety and national security. Defense Dept. officials say they will escort reporters into the area and permit them to photograph selected views of the accident, on condition they submit all video recordings for Defense Dept. screening before they are aired.
Poll #776157
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15
Should reporters agree to submit their images to the Defense Dept. for review?
Case Study 4: Off the Record
A reporter is sitting in a bar where she happens to engage in a conversation with the new city attorney. The attorney thinks the reporter is just another person at the bar and begins to open up, pouring out information that would make a great story.
Poll #776158
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19
Should the reporter tell the attorney that she is a journalist?
Poll #776159
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17
Should the reporter publish the information that the attorney divulged to her without knowing her identity?
View Answers
| Yes |
| 1 (5.9%) |
| No |
| 12 (70.6%) |
| Not sure |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| Only if it's really important |
| 4 (23.5%) |
The Case of Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe was a tennis star in the 1970s. In 1988 he was diagnosed with AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion he received during surgery in 1983. He and his family decided not to disclose his condition to the public. In 1992, a USA Today reporter asked him if he had AIDS. “Could be,”Ashe said. He later realized that his words were as good as an admission. He called a press conference the next day before USA Today could print the story.
“I am sorry that I have been forced to make this revelation at this time. After all, I am not running for some office of public trust, nor do I have stockholders to account to. It is only that I fall in the dubious umbrella of quote, public figure, end quote.
--Arthur Ashe, 1992
Things to Watch Out For
Reverse-Angle Questions
Staged News Events
Accepting Favors
Re-Enactments
Use of Old Video - Video “File”
Use of Material Provided by Outside Sources (VNRs)
Professional Ethics Codes
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA): http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/coe.shtml
National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics
http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/ethics | |
|
| The First Amendment Is the Foundation of US Media LawCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.Background on the First AmendmentThe First provision of The Bill of Rights
Became part of the Constitution in 1791
Was not applied to the states until 1920s
Not all speech is protected by the First Amendment.
Scope of the First Amendment
The First Amendment was understood to apply to the Federal Government, but not the states.
In Gitlow vs. New York, 1925, the Supreme Court decided that the First Amendment applied to the states.
Prior Restraint
A prior restraint is an official restriction of speech prior to publication.
In Nebraska Press Association vs. Stuart, the Supreme Court stated that prior restraints are "the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights."
However, the Court has held that there may be some circumstances in which the public good may justify prior restraint.
Prior Restraint: Public Nuisances
Near vs. Minnesota, 1927
Minnesota had a "public nuisance" law that allowed state authorities to shut down "obnoxious" newspapers.
Jay Near and Howard Guilford's Saturday Press was shut down under the Minnesota law.
The ACLU defended Near & Guilford, claiming that the First Amendment protected all expression from government interference, including obnoxious expression.
The Supreme Court agreed with the ACLU.
Prior Restraint: Public Nuisances
"The fact that the liberty of the press may be abused by miscreant purveyors of scandal does not make any less the immunity of the press from previous restraint in dealing with official misconduct."
--Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes
US Supreme Court
Near vs. Minnesota
Prior Restraint: National Security
Schenck vs. United States, 1919
Schenck, a socialist, mailed pamphlets to World War I draftees. The pamphlets called the draft "evil" and urged draftees to petition to appeal the draft.
The Supreme Court ruled that Schenck was not protected by the First Amendment.
The court said that some speech that would normally be protected during a time of peace would not be protected during a time of war.
Prior Restraint: National Security
"The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent."
--Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
US Supreme Court
Schenck vs. United States
Prior Restraint: National Security
New York Times vs. United States, 1971. Aka "The Pentagon Papers"
The Nixon Administration wanted to prevent The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing information about US involvement in VietNam.
The information was from secret Defense Department documents taken illegally from the Pentagon by Daniel Ellsberg. The Nixon Administration claimed that publishing the information would harm national security.
The Supreme Court ruled that the public's right to know about the government's defense policy was more important than the potential harm that could accrue from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
Fighting Words
Chaplinsky vs. State of New Hampshire, 1942
Walter Chaplinsky called a city marshall "a god-damned racketeer" and "a damned facist" in a public place.
Chaplinsky was arrested under a New Hampshire law for violating a breach of the peace.
The Supreme Court held that Chaplinsky was not protected by the First Amendment because his speech was "fighting words" or words that "inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peach," and that might incite a riot.
Incitement Standard
Brandenburg vs. Ohio, 1969
Brandenburg made a speech at a Ku Klux Klan rally, and was arrested under an Ohio law against "criminal syndicalism."
The Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio law was too vague and far-reaching, and violated Brandenburg's right to free speech.
The Court came up with a four-part test called the Incitement Standard to determine whether speech could be restricted based on its potential to incite violence.
Incitement Standard
Authorities may justify silencing someone only if:
The statement advocates a lawless action
The statement aims at producing lawless action
Such lawless action must be imminent
Such lawless action must be likely to occur.
Hate Speech
Several states have passed laws that make it a crime to engage in "hate speech."
Wikipedia defines hate speech as "speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against someone based on his/her race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability."
The Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down hate speech statutes that have come before it.
Joey Johnson
Flag Burning
Texas vs. Johnson, 1989.
Joey Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas.
The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is an act protected by the First Amendment.
The Court found that Johnson's actions constituted "expressive conduct" that was political in nature.
Libel
Libel is the use of factual information (as opposed to opinion) that holds someone in hatred or contempt, subjects the person to ridicule, or otherwise lowers esteem for the individual.
A libelous statement can be the basis of a civil lawsuit brought by the person or group allegedly defamed.
Properties, businesses and institutions can be libeled. A corporation is considered a "person."
Libel
Truth is an absolute defense to libel. The general standard is that the information must be substantially true.
It is harder for public figures to win in libel suits than private individuals. Public figures are defined as
Government Officials - All elected and appointed officials
Political Candidates
Publicity Hounds - celebrities and others who seek the public eye
See full-size image here.
Libel: Public Figures
New York Times vs. Sullivan, 1964
A full-page ad in the New York Times claimed that the arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Montgomery, AL, was a ploy to discredit King's efforts to integrate public facilities and encourage blacks to vote.
The ad contained some minor inaccuracies.
The police commissioner sued, saying that the ad defamed him.
The Supreme Court ruled that the police commissioner could not collect damages for libel in this case.
The Court said that public figures, like the police commissioner, had to prove that false defamatory statements were made about them with "actual malice" or "reckless disregard for the truth."
Libel: Fair Comment
The Fair Comment doctrine holds that reviewers have the right "of publishing, for the information of the public, fair and reasonable comments, however severe in terms, upon anything which is made by its owner a subject of public exhibition."
Based on an Iowa Supreme Court decision where a performance group called The Cherry Sisters sued the Des Moines Leader for publishing a bad review of their work.
Generally speaking, criticism and opinion page editorials are protected from libel.
Invasion of Privacy
The courts have ruled that the 4th Amendment has an implied guarantee to privacy.
Right to Privacy includes "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects."
Invasion of privacy is any act of intrusion that occurs without an individual's consent, including trespass and publication of embarrassing facts, even if true.
Invasion of Privacy
Public figures (celebrities, government officials and others) have less protection against invasion of privacy than private individuals.
Material that is already part of the public record, or activities that occurred in public are exempt from invasion of privacy protection.
Trespass
In the course of newsgathering, journalists may inadvertently trespass on private property.
Journalists should seek permission to enter most properties with recording equipment. .
Restaurants and other merchants are said to have a limited invitation to the public to enter their premises. This invitation does not extend to news organizations with equipment - you must get permission, or leave when asked to leave.
Some organizations have sued the news media for trespass instead of libel when unflattering stories are published.
Trespass: Technology
New technology has increased the scope of what may be termed invasion of privacy.
Because of news helicopters, in many states property lines are considered to extend from the boundaries of the property to the heavens.
Hidden microphones, camera lenses with very long focal length, super-sensitive microphones may all contribute to trespass.
Food Lion
ABC News Primetime Live did an undercover, hidden camera expose on unsanitary conditions at the Food Lion grocery chain.
Food Lion sued ABC for trespassing – for taking cameras onto their property without permission
A jury awarded Food Lion $5.5 million. The judge reduced the amount to $316,000. The award was later overturned by a US District Court of Appeals.
Organizations may sue news organizations for trespass as an alternative to libel when true but unflattering information is published about them.
Indecency, Pornography, Obscenity
Indecency, Pornography and Obscenity all have various levels of restriction in their expression.
Indecency is difficult to define. Many indecency statutes have been struck down by the Supreme Court.
Pornography, or material aimed at sexual arousal, is traditionally limited to distribution channels accessed by adults.
Obscenity, defined as going beyond pornography, is not protected by the First Amendment.
Obscenity
To declare something obscene, all of the following must be true:
Would a typical person applying local standards see the material as appealing mainly for its sexually arousing effect?
Is the material devoid of serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value?
Is sexual activity depicted offensively, in a way that violates state law that explicitly defines offensiveness?
Communications Decency Act 1996, 1999
Designed to keep children away from indecent material on the Internet.
The definition of "indecent" was never properly established.
In 1997 the Supreme Court threw out the 1996 law.
The Court recognized the democratic nature of the Internet, where everyone could be a publisher. It found that the provisions of the law were too broad and threatened the free-flow of information on the Internet.
Sunshine Laws
Most states have open meeting laws that compel all legislative bodies, including state boards and commissions, city councils, school boards and county governments to allow the public to attend their meetings.
These are called "Sunshine Laws."
The laws usually have additional requirements, such as rules that meetings of legislative bodies be held at regularly scheduled times and announced in advance.
Freedom of Information Act
Requires Federal agencies to list all of their documents and to help people locate documents they are seeking.
Some documents are exempt from FOIA, including:
Classified documents kept secret for national security
Trade secrets and other information obtained on a confidential basis by the government
Medical and personnel files that might compromise individual privacy.
Confidential Sources and Shield Laws
Shield Laws protect journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources.
There is no Federal Shield Law
Some states have Shield Laws.
Pennsylvania has a weak Shield Law.
Under Pennsylvania's law, reporters are compelled to reveal confidential sources if the confidential information can be found to have been published elsewhere, and if the information is sought as part of a libel suit..
Copyright
Copyright protects the creators of intellectual property from having someone else profit by reproducing works without permission.
Current copyright law protects a creative work for the lifetime of the author plus 70 years, after which the work enters the public domain, and is no longer copyrighted.
Generally speaking, the following uses of copyright material fall under Fair Use and do not infringe copyright: criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. | |
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| Use these criteria for determining newsworthiness to help you with your What Is News? assignment. (Available on Blackboard under ASSIGNMENTS.)
Timeliness - News is what's new. Topics which are current are good news. Consumers are used to receiving the latest updates, and there is so much news about that old news is quickly discarded. A story with only average interest needs to be told quickly if it is to be told at all. If it happened today, it's news. If the same thing happened last week, it's no longer interesting.
Significance/Impact - The number of people affected by the story is important. A plane crash in which hundreds of people died is more significant than a crash killing a dozen.
Proximitiy - Stories which happen near to us have more significance. The closer the story to home, the more newsworthy it is. For someone living in Philadelphia, a major plane crash in France has a similar news value to a small plane crash near Camden. Proximity does not always mean geographical distance. Stories from countries with which we have a particular bond or similarity have the same effect. For example, Australians would be expected to relate more to a story from a distant Western nation than a story from a much closer Asian country.
Conflict and Controversy - Physical and ethical conflicts can heighten news interest. Conflict can occur within an individual, between several individuals, between groups of individuals or between nations. Controversy may be evident in some stories, and it tends to fuel the interest of the viewers; however, it should be handled carefully.
Prominence - Famous people get more coverage just because they are famous. If you break your arm it won't make the news, but if Mayor Street or Brittney Spears break an arm it's big news.
Human Interest - Human-interest stories are generally soft news. Examples would be a baby beauty contest, a person whose pet happens to be a nine-foot boa constrictor, or a man who makes a cart so that his two-legged dog can move around again. On a slow news day even a story of fire fighters getting a cat out of a tree might make a suitable story. (Or, as shown here, a kid meeting a kid.) Human-interest angles can be found in most hard news stories. A flood will undoubtedly have many human-interest angles: a lost child reunited with its parents after two days, a boy who lost his dog, or families returning to their mud-filled homes.Human interest stories appeal to emotion. They aim to evoke responses such as amusement or sadness. Television news programmes often place a humourous or quirky story at the end of the show to finish on a feel-good note. Newspapers often have a dedicated area for offbeat or interesting items.
Uniqueness/Unusualness - Any really unusual, out-of-the-ordinary or unique news is probably newsworthy. For example, there is an old saying in journalism that if a dog bites a man, that is not unique and newsworthy. If a man bites a dog, however, that is different and newsworthy. | |
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| People Need the NewsJournalism, in some form, has always existed in human societies. Humans have a basic need to know what is going on beyond their immediate experience. People who can gather information from outside the immediate area in a timely fashion and then retell it in an engaging manner have always been valued. The Elements of JournalismJournalism’s first obligation is to the truth
Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens
Journalism’s essence is a discipline of verification
Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
It must serve as an independent monitor of power
It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
--Project for Excellence in Journalism
Primary Purpose
The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing.
--Kovach and Rosenstiel
Poll #767758
The Primary Purpose of Journalism
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41
To what extent do you think journalists today uphold Kovach and Rosenstiel’s “Primary Purpose?”
View Answers
| Not at all |
| 1 (2.4%) |
| Only when it's easy to do so |
| 15 (36.6%) |
| About half the time |
| 11 (26.8%) |
| Most of the time, even when it's difficult |
| 13 (31.7%) |
| Almost all of the time |
| 1 (2.4%) |
Implications of the Primary Purpose
News media helps define our communities
News media help shape a common language and common ideas among diverse people beyond the immediate geographic area
The central purpose of journalism is to tell the truth so that people will have the information they need to be sovereign.
Advocacy journalism is not necessarily at odds with the Primary Purpose - our history indicates that it is not.
The more democratic the society, the more news and information it tends to have.
Theory of Interlocking Public
Everyone is interested in and even expert in something. For every news story, some people will be highly interested and involved, and some people will not be. The level of involvement for each individual will vary depending on the story.
Involved Public - People how have a personal stake in an issue and a strong understanding of it.
Interested Public - People who have no direct role in the issue, but who are affected and respond with some firsthand experience.
Uninterested Public - People who pay little attention to the issue and will join in, if at all, after the contours of the issue have been laid out by others.
Contemporary Issues Challenging the Primary Purpose
The practice of independent journalism may be lost to the financial considerations of media companies
The gatekeeper function of journalism is lost in the era of continuous-coverage electronic journalism. If The New York Times does not cover it, Matt Drudge will.
There is so much news and information that the role of the journalist becomes one of forum-leader and sense-maker.
The Internet is divorcing news organizations from a geographic location, and therefore from the traditional civic sense of journalism
Globalization of media ownership is also divorcing news organizations from their ties to a local community.
Conglomeration further reduces a news organizations’ investment in citizenship and local community by reducing media outlets to financial entities.
TRUTH AND VERIFICATION
What Is the Truth?
The notion of truth has changed over time.
Philosophers like Plato and Kant have questioned whether “truth” is actually even knowable.
In the Middle Ages, monks taught a hierarchy of truth - highest-level truth, moral truth, allegorical truth and the literal truth.
Scholars in our Post-Modern era recognize that there are many truths, not just one.
Truth as a Journalism Value
Truth has been a value of journalism in all eras.
Even Yellow Press Era journalists advertised the veracity their reports
The problem with using “the truth” as a standard of journalism is that the definition is open to interpretation.
“The truth” must go beyond the reporting of facts.
Journalistic Truth
If there is a “journalistic truth,” it is more than facts and accuracy in reporting.
Journalism based on accuracy alone does not go far enough. Ex: “The moon is made of green cheese,” the president said.
In our media-saturated environment, journalists must assume the role of meaning-makers who sift through competing stories, facts and publics.
Journalists seek to report a functional, practical truth for their audience.
Finding vs. Looting
Journalistic Truth
“It is no longer enough to report the fact truthfully. It is now necessary to report the truth about the fact.” --Hutchins Commission
Journalistic truth is more often a process - a continuing unfolding of understanding.
The “truth” of a story may change over time. Ex: a murder investigation where it takes time to discover what really happened.
Journalism is less accurate when a story first breaks, more accurate as the story evolves.
Truth and the 24-Hour News Cycle
News becomes more piecemeal, less comprehensive and synthesized
Sources have greater influence over reporters, who need them to be available on a moment’s notice
The gatekeeper functions are breaking down in the face of time crunch and budget cuts
Inexpensive, polarizing argument is replacing thoughtful reporting
The press is fixated on finding the big story that will reassemble the now-fragmented mass audience.
Journalism & Verification
The essence of journalism is a discipline of verification.
Journalism & Verification
The discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, or art.
Entertainment - and its cousin “infotainment” - focuses on what is most diverting.
Propaganda will select facts or invent them to serve the real purpose - persuasion and manipulation.
Fiction invents scenarios to get at a more personal impression of what it calls truth.
The Misunderstood Concept of Objectivity
Objectivity in journalism initially referred to a method of practicing journalism.
Objectivity did not initially refer to the notion that individual journalists were unbiased.
Objectivity grew out of a notion of “realism,” or the idea that journalists could report the facts “as they happened.”
With the advent of “press handlers,” journalists realized the limitations of realism.
Kovach & Rosenstiel advocate a “discipline of verification.”
The Discipline of Verification
Never add anything that was not there.
Never deceive the audience
Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives
Rely on your own original reporting.
Exercise humility.
Never Add Anything
Do not add things that are not there.
Do not attribute thoughts to sources unless the sources tell you they had such thoughts.
Never invent anything that was not there.
Never rearrange the timeline of events or compress subjects into one composite character.
Never Deceive the Audience
Do not mislead the audience
Tell the whole truth, as you understand it, and not the truth as based on selected facts.
If your reporting uses narrative techniques that vary from standard eyewitness accounts, let your audience know.
If you reconstruct quotes or events you did not see, let the audience know that they are viewing or reading a reconstruction.
Transparency
Journalists must be open and honest with the audience about what they know and what they do not know.
Journalists should strive to reveal as much as possible about their sources and methods of collecting information.
Transparency invites the audience to make up its own mind about the veracity of a particular account.
Transparency also implies a commitment to providing information to the audience that will help them make sense of the story.
Transparency: Misleading Sources
Transparency also implies being truthful to sources about the nature of the story you are working on. But the practice of misleading sources is common. Ex: hidden camera.
If you are going to mislead sources, make sure the information in the story is vital to the public interest to justify deception.
Journalists should not engage in deception unless there is no other way to get the story.
Journalists should reveal to their audience when they use deception with a source, and explain their reasons for doing so.
Transparency: Anonymous Sources
Anonymous sources should be used sparingly.
Anonymous sources should be used only when the story cannot be gotten any other way.
Anonymous sources are subject to verification.
To the extent possible, let your audience know how the anonymous source is in a position to relay a reliable account of the story.
To the extent possible, let your audience know any biases that the anonymous source may bring to the story.
28% of US Newspapers Ban Use of Anonymous Sources, AP Finds
Originality
Originality means do your own work.
In the age of “pack journalism,” many stories are recycled from stories reported in other news outlets. Sometimes the original story is wrong or misleading, and gets repeated.
Originality means verifying the story for yourself.
Verifying the story independently prevents untrue stories from circulating and prevents your news organization from having to credit a competitor for the scoop.
Humility
Humility means admitting what you don’t know.
Humility means doing research to verify your assumptions.
Humility means acknowledging that your source may also have some of his or her facts wrong. | |
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