Chapter 14

1. Chapter 14 News Effects

2. Characteristics of News • There was a “fire wall” that used to protect serious news from the encroachment of sensationalism. • Serious news has become increasingly tainted by so-called trash or tabloid journalism.

3. Hard News • “the report of an event that happened or was disclosed within the previous twenty-four hours and treats an issue of ongoing concern” • 5 primary characteristics: • Personalized- happened to real people • Dramatic, conflict-filled, controversial, violent • Actual and concrete • Novel or deviant • Linked to issues of ongoing concern

4. Secondary Characteristics of Hard News • Inoffensive • Credible • Packageable • Oriented toward a local angle

5. Crisis News • Crisis • “natural or man-made events that pose an immediate and serious threat to the lives and property or to the peace of mind of many” • These events affect a vast number of people.

6. Soft News • Human interest stories and news stories that are not considered fast breaking or immediate in nature.

7. Crisis Effects • News diffusion • Effects of crisis on media function and activity • Rally effects

8. News Diffusion • Focuses on crisis news • Examines the ways that people hear about news items and the rapidity with which news spreads • 3 factors that influence news diffusion: • Important or high impact event • The timing of the release • Audience demographics

9. Effects of Crisis on Media Function and Activity • In times of crisis, the media provide extended coverage of the event. • Sometimes coverage is intended to comfort audiences who are grieving or otherwise upset.

10. Rally Effects • Occur whenever an external threat is present • Cause people to set aside their differences, come together and mobilize against the threat • Mass media contribute to rally effects: • Media is the vehicle through which information reaches the public. • During times of crisis, the media is often less critical of government leaders and policies.

11. Psychological and Other Effects From News • Studies have sought to identify: • How much people learn from the news they see, hear, and read • What factors facilitate or impede learning • What effects result from comprehension or miscomprehension • Others studies have examined news effects at the national and international level and its impact on foreign policy and foreign relations.

12. Remembering the News • Factors that influence the amount of information retained by audience members: • Gender, age, educational level, social class • Personal interest • Background knowledge of news events • Story structure • Visual materials

13. News Effects on Knowledge and Decisions • Juries’ exposure to case information affects their verdicts. • Jury members reading about similar crimes prior to a trial also influences verdicts.

14. News Effects on Foreign Policy • Areas in which the news has an effect on foreign affairs: • Diplomatic negotiations • Media’s focus on particular images • The reliance of the news media on government sources for information • The relation between covered stories and accompanying video images

15. Recent Research and Future Trends • Children’s fright reactions to news reports • Knowledge gap research • Memory for news items • Perceptions of issues reported in the news