In-Class Discussion

1. In-Class Discussion • Compare Petersen’s and Mead’s websites • Image and style • Issue stances • Presentation, framing, communication strategies • Newspaper portrayal of candidates • Opinion • Which website is better? More organized? Visually appealing? More informative? • If you had to vote just based on websites, who won? • Who will win the election and why?

2. How Journalists Report the News Bennett, Ch. 5 Dr. Kristen Landreville Mon. 9/20, Wed. 9/22, Fri. 9/24

3. Reporting Patterns • Report official lines of the day • Play “gotcha” with newsmakers

4. Explanation for Reporting Patterns • Economics: Moneymaking in the news business (Ch. 7) • Dependence: Reliance on newsmakers and communication strategists (Ch. 4) • Organizational routines: Routine news-gathering practices (Ch. 5) • Professional norms: Codes of conduct (Ch. 6)

5. Benefits of Organizational Routines • News is defined in similar ways across media • News sources cooperate • Daily information sharing with coworkers • News organizations produce a product on schedule • News reports moral issues with diversity

6. 3 Pitfalls of Organizational Routines • Cooperation: Reporters are pressured to cooperate with news sources. • Standardization: Reporters are pressured to standardize. • Pack Mentality: Reporters are pressured to agree.

7. 1. Reporters & Officials: Cooperation and Control Pressures that Reporters Feel Result = Insider Journalism Pseudo-events: Formulaic plot for most political stories: Which official did what official action? in what official setting? for what officially-stated purpose? and with what officially proclaimed results? • Short deadlines • Demanding editors • Reliance on officials • Persuasive news sources • Sympathetic relationships with officials • Punishment by officials for failing

8. 2. Reporters & News Organizations:Pressures to Standardize Pressures that Reporters Face Result = Standardized Practices Coverage of pseudo-events Reliance on PR Fluff stories on slow news days Beat reporters Breaking news events reported with formulas • Editors’ watchful eyes • Mysterious decisions from editors • Need to fill the “news hole” • Closing bureaus and firing reporters to cut costs

9. 3.Reporters & Packs:Pressures to Agree Social Pressures Reporters Face Result = Pack Journalism Compare notes Corroborate story angles Formulaic plotlines Feeding frenzies • Reporters eat, travel, drink, and socialize together. • Waiting, waiting, waiting • Tight deadlines • Editors question departures from formula

10. How Journalists Report the News Bennett, Ch. 5 Dr. Kristen Landreville Mon. 9/20, Wed. 9/22, Fri. 9/24

11. In-Class Assignment #7 • Let’s review the benefits and pitfalls of organizational routines that journalists follow. • Benefits team • Pitfalls teams • Go to board and list the respective reasons under each

12. Review of Organizational Routines Benefits Pitfalls Alexa Casey Grant Andrew Jeremiah Kelsey Dalton Max • Fawn • Chris • Britney • Michael • AJ • Zak • John • Matthew

13. Benefits of Organizational Routines • News is defined in similar ways across media • News sources cooperate • Daily information sharing with coworkers • News organizations produce a product on schedule • News reports moral issues with diversity

14. 3 Pitfalls of Organizational Routines • Cooperation: Reporters are pressured to cooperate with news sources. • Standardization: Reporters are pressured to standardize. • Pack Mentality: Reporters are pressured to agree.

15. The Paradox of Organizational Routines • Goal: Garner an audience • Strategy: Use organizational routines • Result: Hundreds of media outlets that look and feel the same • Paradox: Want an audience, but not unique! • Result: Use media celebrities, branding, style, and image to create a niche • Reality: Marketing surveys show human-interest stories rule

16. In-Class Discussion • Should the market rule the news? • Should media increase human-interest stories because they garner the most ratings? • Does this mean people want more of these stories? • Does the media do a good job at explaining relevance and importance of major political issues? • Is the media being elitist when they tell the public what to care about?

17. Making Changes Local News • Experiment in Austin, TX • Local news does best when it is either: • All human-interest, celebrity, scandal OR • All serious informational • Audiences are segmenting their attention Web 2.0 • Blogging, discussion forums, iReports, Facebook, Twitter, Digg • Will this help journalism?

18. Inside the profession: Objectivity and the Political Authority bias Bennett, Ch. 6

19. Objectivity Defined • Accuracy • Fairness • Balance • Truth • Comprehensiveness • 10 Reporters, 1 Story

20. A Brief History of Objective Journalism • Early US News • Funded by political parties • Events were interpreted • Audience aware of filter • Mid 1800s • Country and cities growing • Technology improving • Creation of AP wire • Late 1800s to Early 1900s • Commercialization of news • Required broad appeal • Inverted pyramid

21. Questioning Objectivity • Business practices of objectivity came first • Later adopted objectivity as a professional norm • But is it fair to… • Limit reporting to two sides? • Give equal time to both sides? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFX7kr6Y3Po

22. Objectivity as Bias • Objectivity requires authority and official sources • Facts are disputed because officials have biases • Objectivity leads to forcing balance of an issue • Global Warming • Objectivity leads to neglecting the “other side” when no officials can represent it • Iraq War

23. Blog Post #5 • What do you think? • Is objectivity a worthy cause? • Or is it unrealistic and harmful to democracy? • See instructions, due Mon. 9/27

24. Inside the profession: Objectivity and the Political Authority bias Bennett, Ch. 6

25. 6 Standards of Objectivity in Journalism • Be a politically neutral adversarial • Critically examine both sides • Ensures detachment • Observe social standards of decency and good taste • Document facts, do not interpret • Use a standardized format • Inverted pyramid • Reporters should be generalists • Helps minimize interpretation • Use editors to ensure objectivity

26. 1. Politically Neutral Adversarial Role • Intended for detachment • Reality: Symbiotic relationship • Press: Need appearance of 4th estate • Government: Need appearance of control • Outcome: Both attack the personal, rather than institutions • Examples: • Watergate – Deep Throat • Obama White House – Glenn Beck and conservative pundits • Tag-team adversarial journalism out of control: Crossfire • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmj6JADOZ-8 • Little respect, rudeness

27. 2. Decency and Good Taste • Intended to keep news serious • Recent downturn. How and why? • Tension between dual goals: • Morality Police vs. Sensationalism and Profit • Examples • Morality Police: Trent Lott • Sensationalism: Janet Jackson • Yet, news avoids what public wants to ignore • AIDS information • Images of war, death, famine, abuse • Why? • What do you think?

28. 3. Documenting “Just the Facts” • Intended to avoid embellishment, advocacy, interpretation • Reality: • Documentation requires officials • Officials exploit this with pseudo-events • Journalists complain, but don’t attack institutions

29. 4. Standardized Storytelling • Intended to distribute facts efficiently • Reality: • Stories need characters, plots, climax, drama • Hence, 4 information biases • Media receptive to pseudo-events • Reoccurring themes: America first, America-the-generous, America-the-embattled, responsible capitalism, individualism

30. 5. Reporters as Generalists • Intended to make complex information accessible to average person. • Intended to prevent closeness to sources. • Reality: • Deadlines, editors • Reliance on official angle • Rarely ask critical questions • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLUvP9ycDx0 • But what about beats? • “You scare me with your information; I think we’ll put you on another beat.”

31. 6. Editorial Review • Intended to promote professional norms. • Reality: • Editors reinforce and promote biases • Editors “play it safe” • Reliance on theme music, celebrity anchors and pundits, bold headlines

32. Review of Objectivity Norms Benefits Pitfalls Fawn Chris Britney Michael AJ Zak John Matthew • Alexa • Casey • Grant • Andrew • Jeremiah • Kelsey • Dalton • Max

33. For Next Time… • Read Bennett Ch. 7 on The Political Economy of News • Complete Blog Post #5 by Mon. 9/27