INCREASED NEWS ACCESS FOR INTERNATIONAL NGOs?

The combined interplay of commercialisation, digitalisation and globalisation offers opportunities for international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to gain more news access. We set up a quantitative content analysis to study how and to what extent press releases from the international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) were adopted in foreign coverage by four Flemish newspapers (1995–2010). First, the analysis shows that fewer articles were based on MSF press releases in 2010 than in 1995. Furthermore, we found that Flemish journalists generally supplemented the MSF press releases with additional information. The decreased agenda-building capacity of MSF can be explained by the nature of events (violent conflicts in 1995 versus natural disasters in 2010) and by the increased competition between NGOs in 2010. The fact that MSF press releases and articles increasingly discuss global issues nonetheless indicates that globalisation offers opportunities for international NGOs to enhance their agenda-building capacities. Second, our research found less evidence to support often heard complaints about “churnalism” in newsrooms and showed that public relations can also be a positive factor in the news production process; specifically, we found that MSF press releases are often used to counterbalance the “official” message coming from political representatives or contending parties.     

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.     

WHO'S GOT THE POWER?

Over the last decades, media environments have become radically transformed. Among the most significant changes is the rise of interactive media technologies, which raise new questions about how influence over media content has changed. At the same time, changes in media technologies and how they may change the influence over the news should not be understood in isolation from other changes in media environments. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how much influence journalists ascribe to different sets of actors; how they perceive changes over time; and whether journalists working with online publishing differ in these respects from other journalists. Among other things, the study shows that the most influential group is perceived to be journalists, followed by the audience and media owners. The group that is perceived to have increased their influence the most is media owners. All investigated groups—except journalists—are perceived to have increased their influence at least somewhat. The results are discussed in the light of research on how interactive media technologies may reshape the influence over the news.     

“NEWS”的来历

英文News(新闻)这个词,一般认为是“北”(North)、“东”(East)、“西”(West)、“南”(South)的缩写连接成的,其实此词来源甚古。早在十四、五世纪,这个词的写法有好几种:newes、newis和newys等,它们的拼法虽不同,读音却一样(都念两个音节)。在中古时代的拉丁文中,这个词的单数形成是nova,复数是novum。当时的盎格鲁·撒克逊     

“MAYBE YOU NEED TO HAVE AN EARTHQUAKE”

This study explores whether the US media, particularly television, radio, and newspapers, met the expectations of international journalism educators concerning the coverage of world news. Four focus groups with 34 journalism educators from 29 countries were conducted in the United States. A critical discourse analysis shows that most journalism educators' expectations were not met because they found world news coverage to be deviant from the reality in their respective countries or regions. Discussion focuses on how the discourse could help us to understand how to coalesce international journalistic practices and information gathering in a new global hi-tech era, not only for the US media, but for other media systems around the world.     

“INTERVIEW BITES” IN TELEVISION NEWS PRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION

This study focuses on how interviewees' utterances are used as resources in news production processes. We examine how these communicative units, here labelled “interview bites”, are integrated in every major aspect of the news production process as well as in the presentation of news reports. Basically, we argue that an interview bite operates in three distinct ways, as (1) a format, (2) a mental representation, and (3) an artefact. Although we claim that it has these different functions, the three dimensions interact and collectively work as powerful motivations for the choices made by reporters throughout the news production process. The data are gathered from field observations of Swedish reporters' work at a major news desk and from in-depth reporter interviews. Theoretically, the study re-visits Clayman's (1995) considerations for enhancing quotability: narrative relevance, conspicuousness and extractability. While maintaining these three basic cornerstones of what makes certain statements quote-worthy, a re-definition of the rationale behind each consideration is needed in order to make them relevant for our understanding of everyday news production practices.     

HAPPIER WORKING FOR THEMSELVES?

This survey analysis of women freelance journalists is a first step toward filling a gap in the largely uncharted territory of women in the United States who leave traditional employer-based news jobs for self-employment. The findings show that female respondents were satisfied with their work hours, earnings, and ability to combine their atypical newswork jobs with raising children. However, they were no more satisfied with their work than male respondents who also worked as freelance journalists.     

FOR YOUR REFERENCE COLLECTION?

No abstract available for this article.     

MEDIA MORALITY AND COMPASSION FOR “FARAWAY OTHERS”

In January 2009, the BBC refused to broadcast an appeal by the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) for humanitarian relief for refugees in the Gaza region on the grounds that it would compromise BBC impartiality. This study highlights three issues raised by the decision: the blurring of the lines between news and non-news; the journalistic norm of impartiality and its utility and consequences; and the need for greater theorizing on the responsibilities that media institutions have to “faraway others.” This study uses this decision by the BBC to spur a broader epistemological critique that will seek to map out a vision for a globally-conscious and responsible media practice, spur future theorizing on matters of media ethics, globalization, humanitarianism, and the intersections within, and to call for media practice that is responsive to, and compassionate towards, the needs of people across the world, not just those within the borders within which they operate.     

“本版书”? “外版书”?

“本版”和“外版”或“本版书”和“外版书”,是出版发行行业习用的两个专用术语(“行话”)。《辞海》、《辞源》、《现代汉语词典》都未收这两个词。《出版词典》等出版发行专业词书也未收这两个词。这两个词和含义是什么,现在有点模糊不清。 什么时候在出版发行业中出现这两个术语,难以进行精确的考证。上世纪三十年代,在上海出版发行界,这两个术语是常用的,而且含义是清楚的。出版社对本社所出版的书称为本版书,对非本出版社出版的书称为外版书。商务印书馆门市部,当时既销售本馆出版的书,也销售非本馆出版的书;对本馆出版和非本馆出版的书,有加以区别的必要,因此使用了“本版书”、“外版书”两个术语。生活书店、开明书店、北新书局等也是如此,都有区     

“小将”乎?“皇后”乎?

8月4日,不满12岁的中国小姑娘伏明霞在第二届友好运动会上勇夺女子10米跳台冠军,新华社西雅图专电,称伏明霞“成为最年轻的‘跳水皇后’”。8月6日,国内报纸大都刊发了这则消息,其中有的采用了电讯稿的说法,读后心里总觉得不是个滋味。但是,人民日报从标题到正文,均只称“小将”而未称“皇后”,只说地“一鸣惊人,夺得金牌”;工人日报则称“满脸稚气的中国小姑娘伏明霞不负众望,勇夺冠军”,在次日二版所发综述中也只称“冠军”而未称“皇后”;文汇报虽未发消     

“小将”乎?“皇后”乎?

8月4日,不满12岁的中国小姑娘伏明霞在第二届友好运动会上勇夺女子10米跳台冠军,新华社西雅图专电,称伏明霞“成为最年轻的‘跳水皇后’”。8月6日,国内报纸大都刊发了这则消息,其中有的采用了电讯稿的说法,读后心里总觉得不是个滋味。