Television news in Bangladesh: intersection of market-oriented journalism and perceived credibility

The television medium has occupied a dominant place in Bangladesh. With the unprecedented expansion of the television industry, questions are being raised about a palpable rise in market-oriented journalism (MOJ) in the country. This article examines the theoretical and empirical relationship between MOJ and credibility of TV news. Three surrogate factors of MOJ including independence, social role, and objectivity, along with TV news credibility are analyzed for insights. The findings suggest that there is a complex relationship between the two constructs. To improve the perception of credibility of TV news, our findings suggest an important role of public journalism as an alternative to MOJ.     

Negotiating fragmented women's news: state,market and feminism in contemporary Chinese media

This study aims to explain the reasons for the transformation of women's news in contemporary China. It concludes that in comparison with women news's in the Maoist period, present-day women's news is represented in a fragmented way. This article analyses the differences among the individual, professional, and institutional aspects in news production, while emphasizing the complicated interaction among feminism, state, and market to illuminate the reasons behind women's news transformation. Due to the immanent masculinity of both state and market, feminism in China has to face a state–market complex, that is, double pressure. Comparing with state and market, the influence from feminism to journalism is quite weak and there is a long way to go before feminism realizes its own agenda for media transformation.     

Metacoverage and Mediatization in US Presidential Elections

This article develops a theoretical model consisting of three mechanisms that link metacoverage, a type of election campaign news, to mediatization, a meta-process in which media organizations influence politics. The mechanisms hinge on the point that metacoverage—consisting of both topics and frames—constitutes a rich set of process-oriented cues that influence how campaign organizations adjust to the media logic in the course of performing functions associated with the office-seeking political campaign logic. A case study of 2012 US presidential election news was conducted to illustrate how metacoverage influences campaign strategies.     

Taking sides in the war on news: exploring curvilinear associations and group differences related to perceptions of news media as threat

ABSTRACT

The free press performs essential democratic functions, but widespread negative attitudes toward the press threaten its legitimacy and effectiveness as a check on formal institutions. In order to combat these attitudes, media organizations must understand who holds them and why. A survey-based study of U.S. adults (N?=?2052) focuses on associations between perceptions of the news media industry as a threat to political performance and a range of politically oriented behaviors (i.e. news media exposure, political talk, political participation). Analyses reveal a series of non-monotonic relationships. Group differences between those who hold the most extreme views concerning news-media-as-threat are also explored. The opposing groups are distinct in some important ways (e.g. ideology, race), but are also found to be surprisingly similar (e.g. income, education, gender, news media exposure). The results suggest new strategies for maintaining and restoring confidence in media organizations.     

Still the Same?

This article analyses whether a specific news event is reported differently online compared to print newspapers. The question is hardly new but has increased in importance as more readers pass from print newspapers to online news. The conditions of news selection and production are discussed departing from the theories of market-driven journalism and media logic, and are related to aspects of audience needs and gratifications, as well as professional norms and standards. A content analysis of news reporting during the 2010 Swedish election campaign reveals no significant differences between how major newspapers reported the aspects, issues and actors online compared to in print. Individuals using online news received the same information about the election campaign as those reading the print paper, which indicates a displacing rather than complementary effect of online journalism on print journalism.     

Networking or Not Working?

This paper examines journalists' changing sourcing practices in the context of an emerging media ecology initiated by processes of globalization, digitization, commercialism and concentration. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube provide the means to access a more diverse range of sources, including civil society organizations and ordinary citizens. We developed a quantitative content analysis to examine to what extent Belgian news coverage showed signs of diverse sourcing practices during the 2011 uprisings in three Arab countries. We analysed a total sample of 1121 news items about the street protests in Syria, Egypt and Tunisia, in four Belgian newspapers (two popular and two quality dailies) and two Belgian broadcasters (the public broadcaster VRT and the commercial channel VTM). The analysis shows that ordinary citizens and non-mainstream groups are important news sources and that social media platforms are consulted relatively often compared to everyday foreign news coverage. In terms of inter-media differences, the findings show that broadcasters' dependency on video footage and eyewitness accounts is reflected in their use of ordinary citizen sources and amateur footage. Moreover, the analysis confirms that quality newspapers display more diverse and more innovative sourcing practices than popular newspapers.     

Competitive pressure and arousing television news: a cross-cultural study

In many scholarly writings about journalism, the idea can be found that competitive pressure urges journalists to make news more arousing. This hypothesis was tested in two cultural settings: the Western European culture and the Chinese-dominated culture. A total of 3028 TV news stories from seven different markets, or 12 different news programs, were analyzed on the presence of arousing news characteristics. High competitive pressure at the market level appeared to contribute to the prevalence of arousing news, but this effect was more pronounced in the Chinese-dominated culture than in the Western European culture. Effects of high competitive pressure at the station level were only observed in the Western European culture.     

Fake news alerts: Teaching news literacy skills in a meme world

ABSTRACT

Thirty years ago, fake news was resigned to tabloids at the grocery store. Now, fake news is often more convincing than real news. Many library users lack the appropriate skills to discern between what is real and what is not, and many more get their information from social media memes. When memes are more effective than actual news, what can librarians do to teach information literacy? Librarians can use memes to promote information literacy; they can even create their own!     

Convergence Between Platforms in the Newsroom

Through ethnographic observation and content analysis, this study aims to classify the Al-Jazeera Mubasher (AJM) newsroom according to the Schantin model of newsrooms, describe the network’s convergence level based on the Dailey, Demo, and Spillman Dynamic Scale Model, and present a unique model elucidating how, specifically, convergence works at AJM. Based on the Schantin model of newsrooms, AJM can be classified as a second-generation newsroom, a “cross-media platforms newsroom.” Convergence among the different platforms of AJM is considerable, but still below full convergence level. Accordingly, the AJM newsroom can be classified into the fourth level of the Dailey et al. Dynamic Scale Model — “content sharing.” The unique AJM-specific model presented near the end of this paper depicts the ways in which different AJM platforms function and interact inside the newsroom, explains the degree of convergence between platforms, and classifies the newsroom in terms of its convergence level.     

Explicating factual and subjective science knowledge: knowledge as a mediator of news attention and attitudes

Communication scholars have conflicting views on the relationship between exposure to science news and knowledge, and its subsequent influence on attitudes. Such mixed sentiments could arise from the vague definition of knowledge. Therefore, this paper explicates science knowledge into factual knowledge and subjective knowledge. It also compares the mediating roles of both types of knowledge between news attention and public support for science and technology (S&T). A survey of 967 Singaporeans showed that news attention was positively related to both factual and subjective knowledge. The findings revealed a stronger relationship between subjective knowledge and news attention than factual knowledge and news attention. Additionally, factual knowledge was positively related to public support for S&T, but subjective knowledge was negatively related to public support for S&T. The contrasting directions of these associations demonstrate that factual and subjective knowledge are two distinct dimensions of knowledge. Practically, the findings can inform policymakers and communication practitioners about effective public education and engagement initiatives. This study also provided guidelines for newsmakers in news reporting about S&T.     

Where populist citizens get the news: An investigation of news audience polarization along populist attitudes in 11 countries

This article presents a secondary analysis of two multi-national cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2015 (11 countries, N?=?10,570) and 2017 (4 countries, N?=?2165) to examine the relationship between populist attitudes and media use. The results indicate that populist citizens are more likely to consume news than non-populist citizens. Specifically, populist citizens exhibit a preference for commercial television (TV) news, as well as a tendency to read tabloid newspapers. While they use fewer quality newspapers, public TV news are not systematically avoided. Regarding the online news environment, populist citizens prefer Facebook over Twitter as a source of political information. This selective pattern will be discussed in light of the debates on news audience polarization and political polarization.     

Framing responsibility for depression: how U.S. news media attribute causal and problem-solving responsibilities when covering a major public health problem

This paper analyzes how major U.S. print and broadcast news media framed depression causal and problem-solving responsibilities at individual and societal levels over the past three decades. Results from the content analysis showed that the media placed more causal and problem-solving responsibilities on individuals than the society. However, references to societal solutions increased moderately over time. Organizational differences emerged in news attribution of responsibilities, as print media presented more individual-level causes while broadcast media focused more on solutions at both individual and societal levels. Additionally, local newspapers put more problem-solving responsibilities on individuals than national newspapers, while a cable news channel allocated more time to the discussion of overall depression responsibilities than network TV. Findings are discussed in the context of cultural orientations, organizational constraints, changing practice and trends in health news reporting, and the broader political/social environment in which the news media operate. Practical implications for health journalism, mental health communication and advocacy, and public health policy-making are discussed.     

Deep Participation in Underserved Communities: A Quantitative Analysis of Hearken’s Model for Engagement Journalism

ABSTRACT

Hearken is a proprietary news engagement platform growing in popularity. Under the Hearken approach, audience members are invited to participate in the newsmaking process. Hearken strives to assist news organizations in providing local and hyperlocal content that meets audience needs and demands while preserving elements of the journalist’s role as gatekeeper. Hearken has also worked to help news organizations reach underrepresented populations with mixed results per its own anecdotal analyses. This study employs a quantitative content analysis comparing one year’s worth of coverage at four different local NPR affiliates in the United States to provide a breakdown of Hearken content versus traditional reporter-driven content in the following four categories: emphasis on hyperlocal coverage, story topic prevalence within local and hyperlocal coverage, emphasis on coverage of underrepresented communities, and story topic prevalence within coverage of underrepresented communities. Findings reveal listener-driven Hearken content favors hyperlocal news on lifestyle issues while reporter-driven stories emphasize state-level governance and politics as well as local crime. These indicate a stark contrast between the content audiences want and that which journalists tend to report. The nuanced normative implications, possibilities and limitations of Hearken’s model of “deep participation” are addressed in some detail.     

Political News Journalists in Social Media

Social media allow everyone to show off their personalities and to publicly express opinions and engage in discussions on politicised matters, and as political news journalists engage in social media practices, one might ask if all political news journalists will finally end up as self-promoting political pundits. This study examines the way political news journalists use social media and how these practices might challenge journalistic norms related to professional distance and neutrality. The study uses cluster analysis and detects five user types among political news journalists: the sceptics, the networkers, the two-faced, the opiners, and the sparks. The study finds, among other things, a sharp divide between the way political reporters and political commentators use social media. Very few reporters are comfortable sharing political opinions or blurring the boundaries between the personal and the professional, indicating that traditional journalistic norms still stand in political news journalism.     

How to play the game of intellectual property rights in China: the impact of party affiliation and media location on the use of media frames

This paper explores the dynamic between media and social-political forces through a content analysis of Chinese media coverage of intellectual property rights (IPRs) since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. We examined how media attributes, such as party affiliation and media location, have influenced the use of media frames. Three media frames were extracted from previous studies: (1) national interest; (2) cost and benefit; and (3) legal/contractual. Our results demonstrate that both media attributes exert significant influence on the use of media frames in IPRs coverage: the closer a news organization is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, the more likely it would adopt a national interest frame. Moreover, national press and party newspapers are more likely to adopt the national interest frame in covering IPRs-related issues; whereas, regional/popular and professional press are more likely to report the IPRs-related issues from economic and legal perspectives.     

Inter-media agenda setting in global news production: examining agenda attributes in newspaper coverage of the MH370 incident in the U.S., China,and Hong Kong

The disappearance of Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 attracted high media attention across countries. To explore how news media outlets influence each other in transnational settings, this study focuses on the coverage of MH370 by three major newspapers in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong, and examines the inter-media agenda-setting effect as an indicator of media’s mutual influence. A content analysis of 255 news articles revealed significant correlations among the issue agendas of the 3 newspapers, suggesting the existence of reciprocal, though asymmetrical, influence among the news media in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. The findings also suggest that news media differ in power and that news media in high-power countries play a key role in shaping the global news agenda.     

Social media,legacy media and gatekeeping: the protest paradigm in news of Ferguson and Charlottesville

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the site of intersection between legacy and social media, whereby it asks how local legacy media (St Louis Post-Dispatch and Richmond Times-Dispatch) invoked social media (Facebook and Twitter) discourse within their coverage of the Ferguson (2014) and Charlottesville (2017) events. It thus explores how gatekeeping is manifested and, consequently, how the protest paradigm emerged in a news landscape of proliferating social media. Thematic textual analysis indicates that coverage of Charlottesville and Ferguson clearly relied on indulging the social media sphere in important ways. Common themes of social media as multipurpose platforms, as interfacing with law and order, and as reconciling material and digital modes culminating in social activism were revealed. The study shows that the protest paradigm that has long characterized legacy media’s coverage of social protest is not as “pure” as it may once have been, since a social media component is helping define the contours and content of legacy media’s landscape.