Understanding the News

Johan Galtung & Mari Holmboe Ruge

Studied the coverage of three international crises in four Norwegian newspapers and looked at how foreign events make news in Norwegian press.

Johan Galtung & Mari Holmboe Ruge - 3 (of 12) factors “particularly important” for the selection of news

Unambiguity, negativity, unexpectedness

8 standard news values

impact, conflict, prominence, proximity, timeliness, currency, human interest, usualness

Harcup and O’Neill

Studied three UK newspapers in 1999 to propose 10 contemporary news values. Updated these, adding 5 more, in 2016.

Harcup and O’Neill - contemporary news values

The power elite, celebrity, entertaiment, surprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow-up, newspaper agenda.

Harcup and O’Neill - contemporary news values 2.0

Exclusivity, conflict, audio-visuals, shareability, drama

What journalists imply by objectivity

Truth, accuracy, fairness, balance, neutrality, ethical/principled journalism, absence of value judgements

Types of bias in news reporting

source bias, news bias, news angle bias, description bias

Source bias

Bias in selecting sources

News bias

Bias that occurs in the process of selecting news to report

News angle bias

Bias that occurs when journalists report news in certain ways

Description bias

Bias in the process of describing events

Why official sources in journalism can be problematic

They tend to dominate the news because they are easy to contact, and news deadlines do not permit journalists time to contact other sources. But, official sources often have their own agenda or interests to promote.

Arguments of critics who say the media are not objective

1) Media over-emphasise unrest, instability, disasters etc.

2) Media emphasises scandals and conflicts

3) Media serve the conservative interests of government and big business

4) News coverage of certain issues and events is seen as unfair, biased or sensational

Characteristics of objectivity in journalism

1) Separating fact from opinion

2) Presenting emotionally detached (neutral) view of the news

3) Striving for fairness and balance, giving both sides the right of reply and providing full information to the audience

Why it is difficult to reflect objectivity in the news

Because editors and journalists constantly have to make decisions such as who to interview and who to ignore, the kinds of questions to ask during interviews, quotes to be used, angles to adopt, space and time allocated to a story, and the emphasis to be given to a story.

Complaints about the Australian press

On the rise. The APC receives, on average, more than 700 complaints a year. About 75% that are fully pursued by the complainant result in a correction, apology or some other form of action.

Examples of complaints about the Australian press

Misrepresentation of facts, misrepresentation of sources, under-representation of segments of society, sensational/dramatic reporting, offensive content, improper methods of gathering information.

Journalistic objectivity in non-Western context

The concept of truth is usually what political leaders say it is.

The elements of journalism

1) Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

2) Journalists must be in the public interest.

3) Journalist must maintain an independence from those they cover.

Purpose of journalism

To provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.

Nick Davies

Journalists don’t tell the truth anymore.

Commercialisation of media or pursuit of commercial interests has undermined quality journalism.

The public relations industry and press agencies now influence news stories.

Nick Davies - when journalists adopt unethical practices

1) There is a significant reduction in newsroom staffing

2) Journalists’ workload increases substantially

3) Journalists no longer go out to contact their sources because of increased workload.

Nick Davies - PR materials

Unethical practices are encouraged when journalists fail to crosscheck or verify sources before publication or broadcast. Second-hand material generated by the PR industry and press agencies has destroyed “everyday practices of news judgement, fact-checking, balance, criticising and interrogating sources that are, in theory, central to routine, day-to-day journalism”.

Types of citizen journalism

Participatory journalism, civic/public journalism, hyper-local journalism

Participatory journalism

Refers to those activities of citizens collaborating with a mainstream media outlet. E.g. CNN’s iReport.

Civic journalism

Journalism that focuses on local issues.

Hyper-local journalism

Journalism that focuses on particular geographic communities.

Assumptions about alternative journalists

1) They are largely underfunded.

2) They are unorganised.

3) They are amateurs.

Characteristics of alternative media

1) Tend to be relatively independent from big business and government.

2) Tend to pursue politically open-minded objectives.

3) Promote horizontal communication among members of marginalised groups.

4) Represent an unusual form of journalism that differs from maintream practices.

Key elements of alternative journalism

1) Its news values are different from those of mainstream news media.

2) Is not interested in “objectivity”. It is concerned with open advocacy or activism (i.e., struggles).

3) It provides alternative spaces and voices that promote community interests.

4) These journalists write and report as citizens, as members of communities, as activists or as fans.

5) It emphasises first person, eye-witness accounts by participants

6) It offers freedom and opportunities to communities to express their views and to participate in the democratic process.

Theories of alternative journalism

1) Propaganda mode of media

2) Democratic Participant Model of alternative media

Edward Herman & Noam Chomsky

Proposed the propaganda mode of media theory that news is influenced by or filtered through: centralised power and ownership of media, a reliance on advertising, a desire to avoid annoying powerful interest groups, and the routine use of elite sources as primary definers of news. Argue that mainstream media marginalise ‘ordinary’ citizens because citizens are denied a voice and access to the media.

Critiques of the propaganda model of media

1) In the digital era, the massive power attributed to mainstream media has been weakened by social media, citizen journalism, bloggers, etc.

2) Not based on any empirical study or methodological analysis (research).

Dennis McQuail

Proposed the Democratic Participant Model of alternative media.

Democratic Participant Model of alternative media - elements

1) It is opposed to the commercialisation of private media

2) It believes media should serve their audiences

3) It argues citizens/minorities have the right to access media and be heard

4) It argues media should not be subject to political or state control and ownership

Article 19 of the UNDHR

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion ad expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Freedom House (2019)

“The ability of journalists to report freely on matters of public interest is a crucial indicator of democracy.”

What is press freedom

1) The right of media to scrutinise or serve as a check on governments/people in authority.

2) Our rights as citizens to be informed by the media on matters of public interest so we can exercise our rights.

Why press freedom is important

1. It is an indicator of democracy and good governance

2. Respect for press freedom is used by teh UN and its agencies to measure the quality of democracy and good governance.

3. The press is a major institution that holds goverments to account to prevent abuses of power.

4. If the press is controlled or silenced, democracy is enndangered.

5. Press freedom and plurality enables public debates.

Why press freedom should not be absolute

1) There are laws to protect individual reputations and privacy.

2) There are laws to protect the moral health of society (prevent obscene material)

3) There are laws to protect national security interests during war or national emergency

Things journalists imply when they speak about media freedom

1) They refer to their duty to serve as the watchdogs of society

2) They imply their freedom to report the news, to criticise state officials, and to hold the government accountable for abuse of office

3) Media freedom and free speech are symbols of a free society and a measure of the political health of a country.

Martin Hirst (2013)

Examined the tension between preserving national interest and promoting public interest journalism in Australia. Argued that national interest implies upholding state secrets and concealing things from the public, while the public interest is about disclosure and the public’s right to know.

Australia’s press freedom ranking - reporters without borders

2025 - 29th out of 180 countries. In 2023, it ranked 27th, lower than Timor-Leste, Samoa, Namibia, Costa Rica and South Africa.

MEAA Survey of press freedom in Australia

2018 MEAA survey showed that the state of press freedom has deteriorated over the past decade, with the impact of national security laws on journalism being the biggest concern. Almost 90% of the respondents said press freedom in Australia had worsened over the past decade, with just 1.5% saying it had gotten better.

Top 10 press freedom issues

1) National security laws

2) Funding of public broadcasting

3) Government secrecy

4) Freedom of information

5) Defamation

6) Whistleblower protection

7) Political attacks on journalism

8) Metadata retention

9) Court suppression orders

10) Journalist shield laws

HDI Indicators

Life expectancy, Education and GDP/GNP

Siebert, Peterson & Schramm

In non-democratic developing countries, media are required to “support and advance the policies of the government in power so the government can achieve its objectives”.

Role of journalists in non-democratic developing countries

1) A “servant of the state”

2) Vehicles for national unity

3) Vehicles to mobilise the population for national development

Why journalists in NDDC cannot be watchdogs

Journalists are required to cooperate with the government rather than criticise or attack it

Development journalism

Journalism that is guided by the government - it emphasises national development rather than criticism of government officials. It is not interested in press freedom because “you cannot eat freedom”.

Aims of development journalism

To quicken or fast-track:

1) the development of infrastructure

2) political unification and mobilisation of the population

3) reduction in hunger, illiteracy, poverty and improve healthcare

Assumptions of development journalism

1) Media should support authority, not challenge it

2) Information is the property of the state and leaders only

3) Individual rights to freedom of expression are irrelevant in the face of huge social problems such as poverty, hunger, ill health, diseases

4) Every nation has a right to control foreign journalists and the flow of news across its borders

Spiral of silence theory

People who believe their opinions are popular are eager to express their views, while people who do not think their opinions are popular remain quiet.

Spiral of silence theory and link to journalists in NDDC

Journalists in these countries do not want to lose their jobs or put their lives at risk. Journalists who voice critical opinions are unpopular, so instead they choose to praise the government. In these countries, journalistic objectivity is not what we know it to be but what government officials define it to be.

Cultivation theory

Television shapes how we understand social reality.

Professor Gerbner

Studied whether and how watching TV may influence our ideas of what the everyday world would look like. Examined the long-term effects of watching television on individuals and found that heavy viewers saw the world as more dangerous than light viewers. Argued that television programs promote attitudes and values which are dominant in our culture.

Core assumptions of cultivation theory

1) Cultivation theory distinguished between heavy viewers and light viewers of television.

2) Cultivation research investigated whether television viewers believed the television version of reality the more they watched it.

3) The idea that heavy viewing of television leads people and society to view the world like the way television portrays it.

4) Because long viewers of television tend to believe what they see, television influences their ideas and views about race, gender, sexuality, etc.

5) Previously many people were dependent on television more than any other medium to understand the complicated norms, values and beliefs of their society.

6) Frequent exposure to violence on television reinforces existing beliefs that the world is a dangerous and unsafe place.

Core argument of cultivation theory

Argued that television generally presented an image of the world that did not reflect reality. Television images are seen as an exaggeration or an overstatement of what exists in our world. E.g. people who watch a lot of crime shows may come to believe that the world is a more dangerous place than it is, even if they know that the shows are fictional. This can lead to moral panic in society. To counteract this phenomenon, there is a greater need for media literacy.

Critique of cultivation theory

In this era of social media how many people still watch, or depend on, television for images of social reality? Cultivation theory reflects the period or era in which the theory was proposed - the 1960s when television was a dominant medium of news and entertainment. Today, the Internet and social media have changed how we consume news. We now have multiple channels through which we access and consume news.

Elisabeth Noelle-Neuman

Explained that during elections, certain views tend to receive more attention or publicity than others. Said that age, education and gender affect our willingness to express our opinions. In Germany, found that

a) the willingness to discuss a controversial subject in public varies with gender, age, occupation, income and residence

b) men, younger persons and the middle and upper classes are generally the most likely to speak out, and these differences hold for all other findings.

Exceptions to the spiral of silence

Activists do not fear isolation and will express their opinions no matter the consequences.

Poverty in Australia

More than 1 in 8 adults in Australia live in poverty, including 1 in 6 children. Australia’s unemployment payment JobSeeker is athe lowest unemployment payment in wealthy nations, at 43% of the minimum wage.

Recommendations by ACOSS to reduce poverty in Australia

1) Fix the adequacy and security of income support payments.

2) Help people disadvantaged in the labour market to obtain secure, quality paid work.

3) Ensure people have a decent, secure place to call home.

4) Support self-determination and justice for First Nations peoples and communities through embedding shared decision-making and community development models

5) Set a national, official definition of poverty for adults and children and targets to halve it by 2030.

Media coverage of poverty

media blame individuals for their poverty and describe it as a matter of choice or lifestyle. This is opposed to criticising government for consistently failing to deal with structural issues such as provision of healthcare, education, employment, infrastructure, etc.

Reasons why poverty does not recive much media attention or positive coverage

1) The racialisation of poverty in the media

2) The complexity of poverty itself

3) The unpopular nature of poverty stories to the elite in society

4) Media tend to follow stories and issues that deal primarily with the non-controversial

Kurt Lewin

Conceived the gatekeeping theory in 1947.

Gatekeeping theory

News flows through certain communication channels. Certain areas within the communication channels function as “gates”

David Manning White

Tested the gatekeeping theory. Studied a news agency editor he called “Mr Gate” in order to understand the process of what makes news. Found that reasons given by “Mr Gate” for rejecting news agency copies showed how highly subjective and how reliant on value judgements the selection of news is.

Critique of gatekeeping theory

In its original form, assumed that only professional journalists and editors were equipped to select news for consumption by the public. Journalists and editors no longer serve as the only gatekeepers of news and information because ordinary citizens now do this too.

Agenda-setting theory

States that the media set the agenda for public discussion.This is done when media emphasise certain issues and underplay other issues.

Maxwell McCombs & Donald Lewis Shaw

Proposed agenda-setting theory in 1972. In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping our social and political reality.

Bernard Cohen

“the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about”

Underlying causes of the Arab Spring uprisings

1) Government corruption

2) Social inequalities

3) Poverty

4) Unemployment

5) Political repression

Aspects of technology in the Arab uprisings

1) Technology as a facilitator of a participatory democracy

2) Technology as a tool used by government officials to suppress free expression by citizens

Importance of social media in Arab uprisings

1) Social media provided information and images that helped to organise or rally the citizens to protest.

2) Social media allowed protestors to spread messages and images to the outside world.

3) Social media served as powerful, speedy and relatively low-cost tools for recruitment, fund-raising, sharing of information and images, group discussions, and mobilisation for action.

Reality of the Arab uprisings

Social media played some role in the uprisings but remained insufficient tools to achieve the goals of the revolution. The Egyptian revolution was not the “Facebook Revolution” as people referred to it. Similarly, the Syrian uprising was not the “YouTube Uprising”. These two descriptions of the uprising overstate the role of social media and underplayed the risks ordinary citizens took to make the revolutions a success.

Social media platforms in Egyptian uprisings

Facebook: used to find other activists with similar political views and to plan street protests.

Youtube: used to promote citizen journalism by broadcasting activists’ videos that were then picked up by satellite television channels and seen around the world

SMS: enabled active coordination and communication

Twitter: used to reach out to international media and the Diaspora

Impediments to public use of social media in Africa

1) What happened in Egypt might be difficult to replicate in other African countries and other parts of the world due to different circumstances, environment and types of leadership.

2) The ability of people to use the internet will depend on the extent to which people have access to technology.

3) Wireless internet services are not cheap and are not widely accessible.

4) A huge gap exists between citizens who have access to technology and those who do not. This is referred to as the “digital divide”.

Digital divide

The gap that exists between people who have access to technology and therefore have greater access to information and people who lack access to technology. There is also a skills divide between those with the skills to use technology and people with access but not the required skills.