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A2 Sociology

T2: The Processes of Selection &

Presentation of the content of the News

The AQA Specification: What Do I Need to Know?

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Specification Content

The News as Socially

Constructed

Factors Influencing

the Selection and

Presentation of the News News Values and Control of the News

The New Media and its

Impact on News

Presentation and Selection Moral Panics

The news: “newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events”/”information not previously known.”

Many sociologists argue the news is an important part of society, Fenton (2010) notes that the news is the “life-blood” of society Cathcart (2011) suggests: the news tells us what is new, important and interesting in public life; it promotes informed debate, entertains and enlightens. Despite its importance, many sociologists are critical of the way in which the news is selected and presented to the audience. Many suggest, the news is ‘SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED.’

The Media Sociologist McQuail (1992) argues that ‘news’ is not objective or impartial. Events happen, but this does not guarantee that they become news, not all events can, there are too many of them! McQuail argues that news is a socially manufactured product because it is the end result of a selective process.

The news is selected and presented by media professionals or sometimes they are given the term ‘gatekeepers’ – as this group who decide/make choices and judgements about what events are important, what to cover and how to cover them. Again, McQuail (1992) argues the news is ‘loaded’ it is a special form of information, myths and fables.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH THE NEWS IS SAID TO BE ‘SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED’ – IN YOUR EXAM YOU MAYBE ASKED TO ‘ASSES’ THIS IDEA – THEREFORE YOU NEED TO GIVE BOTH SIDES.

FACTORS WHICH SUGGEST THE NEWS IS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED

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Notes

Economic Factor 1: Cost: Media professionals are expensive; the average wage of a journalist is £25,000. Having media professionals based around the globe is even more so, for example, the cost of having journalists permanently based in Africa or Asia would be considerable and would not be financially viable for the news organisations. This means news outlets often gather their stories from agencies who sell news items e.g. the Press Association, furthermore, news outlets also receive press releases from governments and pressure groups who wish to publicize their activities.

Economic Factor 2: A Drive for Profit: Despite popular thinking, the purpose of the news is not to give the public a ‘window into the world’ – newspapers, news channels and other news outlets are often run by global corporations and their primary aim is PROFIT. Profit is generated by selling advertising space/time to companies – advertisers will only advertise if they can be guaranteed a large audience in turn resulting in a large profit. This has two effects:

Conservatism: Bagdikian (2004) argues because the primary aim of news organisations is profit – the stories they present often avoid offending advertisers – much of the news is now conservative.

Dumbing Down: It is argued news no longer focuses upon in-depth coverage of serious issues, the news industry is undergoing a process of ‘TABLODIZATION’ occurring. Davies (2009) examines this concept and argues the news today focuses upon entertainment, sensationalism and human interest stories, this focus Davies argues has turned the news into a form of ‘INFOTAINMENT.’

Structural Factor 1: OwnersOwners have the ultimate say concerning their newspaper or news channel. They can influence the content of news in a number of ways: Directly: they have the power to instruct their media professions to present/not

present an item (agenda setting and gate keeping). Allocation of resources: owners have the final decision on physical space in a

newspaper, airtime and staffing level, etc.

Structural Factor 2: Bureaucratic Constraints

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How does this suggest the news is socially constructed?



The process of selecting events for the news is shaped by organizational factors. These factors may constrain media professionals in their selection of the news.

Time and Space: both print and television news must be fitted into a fixed time/space slot. Newspapers only have limited pages and news bulletins only have limited time slots.

News Diary: Reporters do not go looking for news, instead they plan their stories using ‘NEWS DIARIES’ (Schleissenger, 1978) – the news today was planned days ago! Newspapers are therefore much more likely to focus on yesterday’s news and yesterday’s information.

Structural Factor 3: CompetitionThe news market is extremely competitive there is a massive array of products. News outlets often try and target their publications/news bulletins to certain audiences; for example:

Channel 5 NEWS: this is aimed at a young audience, thus its bulletins are often short and snappy.

The Sun Newspaper: this is aimed at young, W/C readers, thus it has relatively short stories and uses simplistic language.

Political Factor 1: CensorshipDifferent governments have different rules concerning the media. Some governments, e.g. China and Iran, they adopt ‘DIRECT FORMS’ of media censorship e.g. banning certain topics of discussion. Other countries, e.g. the UK, adopt ‘INDIRECT FORMS’ of media censorship e.g. having organisations (Ofcom) and laws surrounding media content (watershed, copyright and libel).

Furthermore, news organisations themselves undertake ‘INDIRECT CENSORSHIP’ through media professionals and media owners selecting suitable news stories, both for personal bias and perceived audience market, Chomsky and Herman (1988) argued media concentration and the growth of media conglomerates and their desire for profit has encouraged this process.

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Notes


Political Factor 2: News ManagementFranklin argues the news is influenced, controlled and selected by governments; governments often employ a number of ‘NEWS MANAGEMENT’ techniques e.g. ‘SPIN’ to ensure they are able to give their preferred interpretation of events.

Selection and Presentation Factor: News ValuesSpencer-Thomas (2008): news values are general guidelines or criteria that determine the worth of a news story and how much prominence it is given by newspapers or broadcast media – will the story published attract audiences? It is Galtung and Ruge (1978) who supply one of the best-known lists of news values.

Galtung and Ruge (1978): News ValuesNews Value Explanation Example

Unambiguity

Stories that have a clear meaning are likely to be selected for news

coverage. The mass media generally tend to go for closure - the meaning of the story must be

immediately identifiable.

Continuity

Once an event has been covered, is it convenient to cover it some more – will it have a ‘run’? This

will allow the news organization to devote time and resources to its

coverage. Audiences will also follow.

CompositionIs the news content balanced?

Does it fit with the style of publication/news channel and

perceived audience.Reference

to élite nations

This relates to 'cultural proximity'. Those nations

which are culturally closest to our

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own will receive most of the coverage.

NegativityBad news is good news. Bad news

e.g. death, violence, riots are always rated above ‘good news.’

Selection and Presentation Factor: Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping

Agenda SettingItems in the media, especially the news, provide a discussion point for the rest of society, if the news content is selected, this means the minority is affecting the majority - a small group of people are responsible for what society at large discusses.

This process the Glasgow Media Group termed: AGENDA-SETTING and has been discussed by the Sociologist Cohen (1963):

while the news media many not necessarily be successful in telling people what to think, they are stunningly successful in telling audiences what to think about.

Gatekeeping Not only does the news have the power and influence to direct conversation, it can also limit its scope, this is a process called ‘GATEKEEPING.’ The Glasgow Media Group (1970) conducted a series of studies ‘Bad News’ and found owners, editors and journalists act as ‘gatekeepers’ influencing the knowledge the public had access to.

Selection and Presentation Factor: Theoretical Perspectives

Marxism Marxist Stuart Hall argues the news supports capitalist interests – those who are

most powerful in society.

Hall argues media professionals attach the greatest importance to the views of the powerful and influential within society e.g. politicians, business leaders, civil servants etc. over and above the views of ordinary individuals.

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This Hall terms a ‘HIERARCHY OF CREDIBILITY.’ It is these people who feature predominantly as ‘experts’ within the news and are able to define and influence the news content – it is the views of this group which seem most reasonable. This group Hall terms ‘PRIMARY DEFINERS’.

The media ignores the views of other or minority groups and treats them as threats to society, Manning (2001) argues these groups cannot express any radical or extreme views in the media – otherwise they will be ridiculed/presented negatively.

Edwards and Cromwell (2009): media owners are nothing more than cheerleaders for government and business and are engaged in the ‘dark art’ of smearing anybody or anything than challenges/threatens the dominant ideology of society and the existing social structure.

FACTORS WHICH SUGGEST THE NEWS IS NOT SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED

Factor 1: The News isn’t Socially Constructed: Pluralism

Pluralism argues the news is not socially constructed, instead Williams argues the news represents the world truthfully – they argue the job of a journalist is to distinguish between what matters most and what matters least.

Pluralists see ‘print media’ as holding those in power to account and provide a space for competing views to be aired.

Jones (1986) a pluralist and media professional examines ‘radio news’ and argues it is fair, neutral and balanced – all sides when discussing an event are given equal emphasis. Citing the example of industrial disputes – Jones argues each side (management and workers) are given equal airtime.

Additionally, investigative journalism often targets those in power – UK newspapers often reveal corruption e.g. the expenses scandal in 2009 was uncovered by the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph – this lead to many MPs to resign. Additionally, Wintour (2012) highlights the role played by the media in exposing tax avoidance schemes among senior UK government officials.

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How does this suggest the news isn’t socially constructed?

Factor 2: The News isn’t Socially Constructed: Not Always the Powerful who Benefit

Schlesinger (1990) is critical of theories which suggest the news focuses upon and benefits those in power.

There is now an acknowledgment among the powerful (e.g. politicians) that the media rather than a tool for them to control and influence, it is instead, a tool to be used to shape public perception of policies and behaviour. One which has also been a tool used to force the resignation of a number of high profile MPS and other powerful individuals.

Factor 3: The News isn’t Socially Constructed: New Media

The New Media has transformed the way in which people obtain news and the way in which news is gathered.

Since 1999 there has been a rapid growth in the internet, digital and satellite technology, social networking and blogs. This has led to audiences abandoning traditional sources of news in favour for new media.

Citizenship Journalism “has allowed every citizen to be a reporter and have his or her voice equated with that of the rich and powerful” Drudge (2003). This new phenomenon has allowed every citizen to create their own news content and thus allows everybody a chance/opportunity to share their view/opinion, powerful or not.

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What is a Moral Panic?

W

What Sociologist introduced the concept? What was the book called?

What are the different stages of moral panics?

What are contemporary examples of moral panics?

How do moral panics emerge?

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How does the concept of moral panic link to the topic of news selection and presentation?

Find a recent headline linked to the topic of moral panics

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