Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents

ABSTRACT

Press credentialing practices are a vital, yet understudied site of scholarly research on journalistic norms and practices. Press credentialing not only structures internal professional hierarchies, but they also signify the boundaries of the journalistic field itself. This paper explores the legal and theoretical implications of press credentialing to cover the United States Congress, drawing on the concepts of boundary work and journalistic authority to demonstrate the material impact of the space between fields on professional legitimation in journalism. Using WorldNetDaily (WND) as a case study, I argue that the Standing Committee of Correspondents (SCC) occupies a hybrid boundary zone between the journalistic and political fields, generating a unique tension in First Amendment jurisprudence that places journalists in a paradoxical role as both the professional embodiments of free speech and its constitutional steward. The resulting jurisdictional conflict between the SCC and WND extends the relational model of journalistic authority by articulating how journalist-state relations can fundamentally augment the process of legitimation at its fuzzy boundaries. The relevance and implications for press credentialing practices in the digital age are discussed.     

Fantasy,Pragmatism and Journalistic Socialisation: UK Journalism Students’ Aspirations and Motivations

ABSTRACT

Despite the sustained growth in journalism as a choice of degree path for young people, our understanding of students’ aspirations and motivations remains relatively underdeveloped. At the same time, journalism careers appear increasingly uncertain, as the industry responds to digitalisation and convergence. In this mixed-methods study – employing 35 interviews and a survey of 837 UK journalism students – we ask what areas of journalism do students aspire towards, how do they feel about their future career prospects, and what is motivating them to study journalism in the first place? We find that intrinsic motivations (calling and talent, dynamic job) prevail over public service ones, with students drawn to soft news beats over hard news. Aspirations are also strikingly gendered, opening up questions of journalism education in this process. We also find that while students articulate an aspirational career in respected media outlets, they are pragmatic about their immediate career prospects. Here, journalism education appears to play a significant role in socialising students towards careers beyond journalism. Findings are discussed in the light of ongoing debates around journalistic socialisation and the future of journalism.     

加强艺术类精品课程建设搞好高等学校艺术教育

在高等学校的文化素质教育中,艺术教育是一特效的切入点。目前艺术教育还存在不少需要改进的地方。搞好艺术教育,要树立以建设艺术类精品课程为中心的教育观念,设立艺术类精品课程的建设目标,树立以审美能力培养为核心的艺术教育思想,建设以审美能力培养为目标的艺术课程,实施以艺术感受为主体的艺术教学模式,组建可持续发展的艺术课程师资队伍。     

租界社会与近代天津新闻事业的发展

租界社会与近代天津新闻事业的发展密切相关。租界的移民社会为报刊发展提供了广泛的读者群;租界繁荣的商业环境培植了传播媒介的生长点;租界内传播渠道的多样化与先进的传播手段,提升了媒介传播速度。九国租界的存在,为近代天津新闻事业提供了发展契机和相对有利的客观环境。     

2019年中国的新闻学研究

本文从近30种中文学术期刊(包括港台地区)遴选出在问题意识、研究视角、论证方法等方面较为创新的新闻学研究原创文章,并从媒介转型、新闻从业者研究、新闻与社会记忆研究、技术视角下的中国新闻业、作为公民与用户的受众、新闻基础理论研究、报刊史与近代政治以及新闻学科建设与反思等八个话题对相关文献加以回顾。研究发现,2019年中国的新闻学研究主要呈现为四个特征:一是围绕新闻行业生态变革的重要研究议题涉及面较广,比较亮眼的研究是以新的理论视角观照中国语境下的本土实践;二是对中国新闻从业者与新闻受众的不少研究表现出明显的社会学取向,阶层特征、群体分化、角色冲突以及管辖权成为主要的概念切入点;三是新闻理论研究兼顾对经典新闻理念的反思与新兴新闻实践及其理论化现状的引介;四是报刊史研究注重在专门史与近代政治史的脉络和问题框架中组织材料与观点,试图开拓研究视野从而避免内卷化的学术意图比较明确。     

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.     

从人才市场需求变化看广播电视新闻专业人才培养方案修订的必要性

人才培养方案的修订应以培养学生实践能力为重点,以提高学生就业率为向导,跟踪传媒产业动向,适时调整和完善教学内容。实行规范管理,科学有序地促使广播电视新闻专业健康发展。     

中国近代新闻史研究三题

中国近代新闻史研究既要注重史料的考释,又要侧重学理的阐述。就目前而言,研究范围的界定与研究视野的拓展并不矛盾;探究报刊等传媒与中国近代文化转型的关系是中国近代新闻史教学与研究的焦点;中国近代新闻史研究既要有宏观视野,又要从微观层面来考察。