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?

HOW JOURNALISTS REPORT THE NEWSBennett, Ch. 5

Dr. Kristen LandrevilleMon. 9/20, Wed. 9/22, Fri. 9/24

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

Explanation for Reporting Patterns

1. Economics: Moneymaking in the news business (Ch. 7)

2. Dependence: Reliance on newsmakers and communication strategists (Ch. 4)

3. Organizational routines: Routine news-gathering practices (Ch. 5)

4. Professional norms: Codes of conduct (Ch. 6)

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

3 Pitfalls of Organizational Routines

1. Cooperation: Reporters are pressured to cooperate with news sources.

2. Standardization: Reporters are pressured to standardize.

3. Pack Mentality: Reporters are pressured to agree.

1. Reporters & Officials: Cooperation and Control

Pressures that Reporters Feel

• Short deadlines• Demanding editors• Reliance on officials• Persuasive news sources• Sympathetic relationships

with officials• Punishment by officials for

failing

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?

2. Reporters & News Organizations:Pressures to Standardize

Pressures that Reporters Face

• Editors’ watchful eyes• Mysterious decisions from

editors• Need to fill the “news

hole”• Closing bureaus and firing

reporters to cut costs

Result = Standardized Practices

• Coverage of pseudo-events

• Reliance on PR• Fluff stories on slow news

days• Beat reporters• Breaking news events

reported with formulas

3.Reporters & Packs:Pressures to Agree

Social Pressures Reporters Face

• Reporters eat, travel, drink, and socialize together.

• Waiting, waiting, waiting• Tight deadlines• Editors question

departures from formula

Result = Pack Journalism

• Compare notes• Corroborate story angles• Formulaic plotlines• Feeding frenzies

HOW JOURNALISTS REPORT THE NEWSBennett, Ch. 5

Dr. Kristen LandrevilleMon. 9/20, Wed. 9/22, Fri. 9/24

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

Review of Organizational Routines

Benefits

• Fawn• Chris• Britney• Michael• AJ• Zak• John• Matthew

Pitfalls

• Alexa• Casey• Grant• Andrew• Jeremiah• Kelsey• Dalton• Max

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

3 Pitfalls of Organizational Routines

1. Cooperation: Reporters are pressured to cooperate with news sources.

2. Standardization: Reporters are pressured to standardize.

3. Pack Mentality: Reporters are pressured to agree.

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

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?

Making ChangesLocal 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?

INSIDE THE PROFESSION: OBJECTIVITY AND

THE POLITICAL AUTHORITY BIAS

Bennett, Ch. 6

Objectivity Defined• Accuracy• Fairness• Balance• Truth• Comprehensiveness

• 10 Reporters, 1 Story

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

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

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

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

INSIDE THE PROFESSION: OBJECTIVITY AND

THE POLITICAL AUTHORITY BIAS

Bennett, Ch. 6

6 Standards of Objectivity in Journalism

1. Be a politically neutral adversarial • Critically examine both sides• Ensures detachment

2. Observe social standards of decency and good taste

3. Document facts, do not interpret

4. Use a standardized format• Inverted pyramid

5. Reporters should be generalists• Helps minimize interpretation

6. Use editors to ensure objectivity

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

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?

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

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

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.”

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

Review of Objectivity Norms

Benefits

• Alexa• Casey• Grant• Andrew• Jeremiah• Kelsey• Dalton• Max

Pitfalls

• Fawn• Chris• Britney• Michael• AJ• Zak• John• Matthew

For Next Time…• Read Bennett Ch. 7 on The Political Economy of News

• Complete Blog Post #5 by Mon. 9/27