THE JOURNALIST IS MARKETING THE NEWS

This study, based on case studies of three online newsrooms, seeks to understand the patterns of how journalists use social media in their news work. Through 150 hours of observations and interviews with 31 journalists, the study found that journalists are normalizing social media while also reworking some of their norms and routines around it, a process of journalistic negotiation. They are balancing editorial autonomy and the other norms that have institutionalized journalism, on one hand, and the increasing influence exerted by the audience—perceived to be the key for journalism's survival—on the other. In doing so, journalists are also seeing a reworking of their traditional gatekeeping role, finding themselves having to also market the news.     

THE NEWS-GENERATING MACHINE

This paper examines the reporter–source interview in television news production. The starting point is that the interview as part of news production is largely ignored as a subject of research, especially considering its central importance in journalism. The interview is usually looked at as a method to gain information from interviewees. This study looks at the interview in a more constructivist way. The central claim is that the interview functions as a “news-generating machine” that compels replies from interviewees that can be used as raw material for news stories. The article brings forth the importance of the “pre-interview”, it examines and exemplifies standard question strategies, such as negative questions, and how the interviewee replies are edited and represented as news. In doing so, the article also shows how certain questions’ strategies are linked with the making of such common news frames as “the problem frame”, “the attraction” and “psychological news narratives”.     

TOWARDS A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOCATING ONLINE NEWS IN THE NEWS ECOLOGY

As, historically, has been common with newly emergent media, the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s was greeted with a discourse of revolutionary impacts, premised on a technological logic of development. In the case of news, the Web was expected to drive a more democratic, transparent and accountable journalism. This article argues that the application of a strong historical perspective to scholarship on online news is necessary to gauge the depth of any changes from and the strength of continuity with print and broadcast news. It examines the historical development of mass media and of journalism in the context of industrial capitalism to trace the emergence of the ‘news ecology’ that permeates print, broadcast and, now, online media. It examines this through a sample of websites maintained by Irish national and local newspapers, and the country's public service broadcaster, between 1994 and 2010.     

THE CONTINGENCIES OF ORDINARY CITIZEN APPEARANCES IN POLITICAL TELEVISION NEWS

While few would deny the crucial role of citizens in democratic governance, there are still only a few studies that focus on ordinary citizens’ inclusion in political news coverage. First, we present a number of factors conditioning ordinary citizens’ appearances in the news. Second, based on the discussion of these factors, we formulate a number of research questions. After conducting an extensive content analysis covering almost 6000 actors appearing in political news coverage in the two major Danish broadcasters, DR1 and TV2, between 1994 and 2007, we find that ordinary citizens appear more often in reports on intrusive issues such as welfare, that they appear more often in news items positioned later in the news bulletins, that they, largely speaking, appear more often closer to election day, but that there are almost no differences between commercial and public service broadcasting. These findings are discussed in the light of past research on media source use and the ongoing changing foundations of political communication.     

CRITICAL FOUNDATIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE TEACHING OF NEWS JOURNALISM

It sounds like a laudable but vainglorious exercise to want to reconcile the diverse ways of teaching news journalism with each other, to show that they share common grounds, are driven by the same concerns and follow the same directions albeit in their own peculiar ways. Nevertheless, I believe that such reconciliation occurs when we ask what it is we are, as educators, responding to when teaching news journalism. I think we are responding to two things. First, a particular set of foundational questions which, when asked, force us to consider the rationale and purpose of news journalism itself. Second, bringing these considerations to light in the classroom where they can be cast into the setting of students who are actually practising news journalism itself. In this paper I argue that there are three foundational questions to which we, as news journalism educators, should respond and conclude that the classroom is a place where those responses are given dramatic practical expression. It is this process, undertaken in a self-knowing manner, which ultimately unites news journalism education no matter where it is taught.     

电视新闻故事化存在的问题探析

随着新闻传播事业的发展,整个媒介环境开始出现一股泛故事化的趋势和倾向,进而影响到新闻的品位,甚至产生一定的负面作用.对于新闻故事化这种手段,我们应该加以辨证的看待.     

THE REPRESENTATION OF THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS IN EUROPEAN NEWS DISCOURSE

Based on semi-structured interviews with journalists in six European countries, this article examines the extent to which the findings of recent literature about the representation of migrants in European media content are reflected in the perceptions of journalists themselves about the way in which migrants are represented in the media discourses produced by their outlets. It finds that the four key findings of the literature were by and large confirmed, namely inaccurate group labelling and designation, negative or victimised representation, under-representation of migrants in quotations, and the scarce reference to a wider European context. Finally, the article discusses media professionals' self-reported awareness about general professional ethics versus diversity-specific ethics, and about the way in which their outlets cover news involving “new” immigrants, i.e. nationals of non-European Union countries residing in the European Union, and examines the differences between media practices and perceptions in “old” and “new” immigration countries.

For a full explanation of the methodology of the research project, please see the introduction in this themed section: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2012.740213.     

NEWS ON NEW DEVICES

News organizations worldwide now deliver content through multiple electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, e-readers, and tablets. While multi-platform news delivery is widely prevalent, is multi-platform news “consumption” a reality? This study examines the extent to which people own, use, and enjoy these electronic devices. Results of a national survey of US Internet users suggested that despite the excitement about newer, more portable devices, not all devices are equally “newsful.” Most people use only one electronic device for news purposes on a weekly basis. We identified the predictors of device ownership and multi-platform news consumption and discussed the implications for multi-platform news publishing.     

THE PERFECT CUT

This study examines how politicians act as sources on Dutch television news. It argues that due to the mediatization of politics and a shift towards more interpretive forms of journalism, journalists use politicians' quotes and sound bites first and foremost to support their interpretation of news events. Previous research has shown that because of the growing importance of media logic, journalists are more autonomous and powerful in their relations with sources. This case study shows, however, how the format of news items, especially the use of interviews and quotes, supports the interpretive nature of television news. While there is less on-screen interaction between journalists and politicians on television news, interviews are cut into short sound bites of politicians without the context of the actual interview. Detached reporting of what politicians say because of its newsworthiness has become less important than fitting suitable quotes into predetermined news frames. The analysis is based on a case study of the 2010 local council election coverage by the two major Dutch television news programs, NOS Eight O'Clock News (NOS Achtuurjournaal) and RTL News (RTL Nieuws).     

NEWS STORIES

Through focus groups with four self-described “independent” college student newspapers, this study provides a new perspective on how to view student media independence. Choices student journalists make concerning sourcing, funding, location and guidance may contribute to the newspaper's level of independence more than how much an institution attempts to control the student media. Expressed invitations by student journalists to non-students and faculty in guiding editorial content and by using university resources to produce a newspaper, such as Internet access, relinquishes the students' control to the university and other non-students.     

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION IN UK NEWS PRODUCTION

This paper represents an exploratory study into an emerging culture in UK online newsrooms—the practice of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which assesses its impact on news production. Comprising a short-term participant observational case study at a national online news publisher, and a series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with SEO professionals at three further UK media organisations, the author sets out to establish how SEO is operationalised in the newsroom, and what consequences these practices have for online news production. SEO practice is found to be varied and application is not universal. Not all UK news organisations are making the most of SEO even though some publishers take a highly sophisticated approach. Efforts are constrained by time, resources and management support, as well as off-page technical issues. SEO policy is found, in some cases, to inform editorial policy, but there is resistance to the principal of SEO driving decision-making. Several themes are established which call for further research.     

MORE NEWS FOR LESS

Using an ethnographic case study of the Newschannel at TV2 Norway, this article reveals ways in which the assembly-line mentality required by 24/7 news production nevertheless encourages reporters to negotiate a certain autonomy over their work and the routines required to produce it. By reorganizing its staff's use of time, space, and resources, TV2 was able to generate roughly 18 hours of “live” news coverage a day during the article's research period from 2007 to 2009. This production process is framed in terms of Schlesinger's “reactive” mode, here qualified as “reactive-active”, because it allows for the possibility of broadcasting live and gathering news at the same time. The article also revisits the concept of “professionalism” with regard to a traditional broadcaster's implementation of a 24/7 news channel within its existing newsroom. As a result of this process, more news—and more content concerning that news—is produced more efficiently while the tenets of traditional journalism remain operative.     

BREAKING NEWS OR BROKEN NEWS?

Television news directors increasingly utilize live shots in their newscasts for reasons other than journalistic value. Reporters and viewers alike react negatively to such “black hole” live shots. Nine news directors and nine senior reporters participated in this qualitative study designed to reveal their differing attitudes toward various aspects of live reporting. Analysis revealed significant tensions between the two groups. The news directors, who are responsible for the news program as a whole, include non-journalistic reasons such as presentation and station identity for including remote live shots. Senior reporters are chiefly concerned with their own contributions to the overall news program. They claim to understand these justifications but often disagree with how they are asked to execute them. The data also reveal one station violating the Radio Television Digital News Association Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct by allowing sponsors to determine editorial content.     

Fake News

The crisis in Ukraine has accentuated the position of Russian television as the government’s strongest asset in its information warfare. The internet, however, allows other players to challenge the Kremlin’s narrative by providing counter-narratives and debunking distorted information and fake images. Accounting for the new media ecology—through which strategic narratives are created and interpreted, this article scrutinizes the narratives of allegedly fake news on Channel One, perceiving the fabricated stories as extreme projections of Russia’s strategic narratives, and the attempts of the Ukrainian fact-checking website Stopfake.org to counter the Russian narrative by refuting misinformation and exposing misleading images about Ukraine. Secondly, it analyses how Twitter users judged the veracity of these news stories and contributed to the perpetuation of strategic narratives.     

SATELLITE TV NEWS AND ARAB DEMOCRACY

The red and white banners of Lebanon's anti-Syrian protests in the spring of 2005 were a testament to the transformational power of the Arab media revolution. Without al-Jazeera and the new constellation of Arab satellite broadcasters, it is unlikely there would ever have been a “Cedar Revolution,” as a Bush Administration official quickly dubbed the spontaneous protests that ended Syria's 29-year military presence in Lebanon. However, television did not drive out the Syrians, any more than it gave birth to some new form of Lebanese democracy. TV cannot alone create change. It is an agent of change—more specifically, a tool used by the architects of change. Arab television is providing a level of cover to those who seek democratic change and it may even be supplanting at least some of the traditionally more bloody battlefields of the Middle East by allowing confrontations to play out through the camera rather than the gun. Yet an emerging corporate feudalism, in which the majority of semi-independent media outlets are owned by individuals who are part of, or close to, the ruling families of the region, means that red lines still exist which constrain journalists and limit the pace of change.     

消息源探源

本文认为,消息源的使用必须遵循信用评估、诚实、透明、多源核实和准确归属五原则;对匿名消息源的使用应加倍谨慎;对匿名消息源的保护,需要从职业道德和法律两方面做更多的实际工作。     

Nurturing Authority

When considering the role of local journalism in a networked media environment, it is crucial to examine how audiences attribute news with the power to define social knowledge. In particular, television news programs need to appeal to audiences by reinforcing a sense of local journalistic authority to assert the parameters of who and what is worthy of coverage. This article presents the findings from interviews with a range of commercial television news viewers in Sydney, Australia. It positions viewership in the context of people’s wider engagement with news, and in relation to their interpersonal and digital social interactions. The paper argues that local audiences have conflicting attitudes to the role of television news, both contesting and re-inscribing the programs with the power to demarcate social, political, and cultural knowledge. It traces how local audiences challenge the ability of news to convey boundaries within the community through processes of exclusion, connecting the contestations to the lived experiences of the individuals. It identifies that television news programs nurture journalistic authority in terms of their local relevance, and it contributes insights on the significance of local news by engaging with the means by which audiences themselves attach social power to journalism.     

THE EDITORIAL PRODUCTION PROCESS AND EDITORIAL VALUES AS INFLUENCES ON THE OPINIONS OF THE BRITISH PRESS TOWARDS EUROPE

British newspapers have been criticised for their coverage of the European Union and accused of contributing to the strength of anti-European opinion in the United Kingdom. Despite these claims, research by media sociologists and political communications scholars has commonly focused on news reporting, overlooking editorial opinions on European issues. This article addresses this gap by presenting a sociological analysis of editorial journalism in relation to European integration at 10 British national newspapers. The findings show that newspapers vary widely in the resources and roles they have assigned for editorialising on Europe, and provide an original insight into the common routines employed for producing editorial opinion. A model, entitled the editorial production process, is developed to illustrate the key stages of this routine. The specialist practices of editorial journalism are discussed through the identification of a set of editorial values used to select issues for comment.     

THE THIRST TO BE FIRST

This article explores the growth and character of breaking news on two 24-hour news channels in the United Kingdom, Sky News and BBC News 24. Our purpose is to examine, in detail, the nature and role of breaking news and, more generally, its impact on the quality of television news journalism. We draw upon a series of content analyses of news programming conducted in 2004, 2005/6 and 2007, and compare the elements of a breaking news item with more conventional forms of news. Our findings indicate that “breaking news” has become an increasingly important part of the 24-hour news culture. This growth means that the typical breaking news item is becoming increasingly predictable and routine. Moreover, by most measures, breaking news items are less well informed and feature less independent reporting than conventional news items. As a consequence, we argue, the decision to cover more breaking news stories impoverishes the quality of journalism.