MASS communications: Part II

What is news? A Commodity Bought & Sold as a product Has a very short shelf life Within minutes of a news event, broadcast media, print media, and new media are aware of what has occurred Each handles the news in its own way

Types of Media New Media Broadcast Media Print Media Blog Twitter Television Radio Print Media Newspaper Magazine

Newspaper Growth In the beginning appealed to business and political leaders Until 1830 – penny press Cheap newspapers Published stories with mass appeal

Newspaper Growth New Technology improved newspaper growth Telegraph lines & Cables Steam-powered presses Linotype machines

Newspaper Growth Linotype Machine Allowed type to be set quickly for presses Prior to invention, each letter had to be set in a rack by hand

Newspaper Growth By the 1890s, newspapers were waging a “war for readers” Would print sensational stories Often untrue, bizarre, and unusual events Called “Yellow Journalism”

Newspaper Decline After WWI, production costs became too high Invention of television & internet Live coverage Video footage Almost instantaneous

Newspaper Decline As of 1983 Today Why is this not a good thing? Approx. 1730 daily and 755 Sunday papers in large metro areas Approx. 9000 weekly papers in small towns and suburbs Today Fewer than 30 U.S. cities have competing daily newspapers Why is this not a good thing?

Top Newspapers The New York Times Chicago Tribune The Wall Street Journal The Washington Post Los Angeles Times Chicago Tribune Louisville Courier- Journal St. Louis Post-Dispatch The Christian Science Monitor

Radio & Television Up-to-the-minute live broadcasts Schedule regular news programs, called newscasts Digital recordings Present recorded information during a newscast Electronic Media Term used to describe radio and television media Also includes the internet

Radio & Television Newscasts are not limited to covering events Can include commentaries Equivalent to newspapers editorial page Opinions broadcast Documentaries Present background information In-Depth coverage

Radio & Television Electronic media has certain legal restrictions that do not apply to print media Licenses Must be licensed by the federal government to avoid conflict with limited number of channels Equal-time law Stations that provide air time for a political candidate must provide equal time for any other “legitimate” candidate

Radio & Television Fairness Doctrine Stations must allow opposing views to have comparable air All radio and television stations are monitored and licensed by the Federal Communications Commission

Press Associations Organized groups of journalists who provide info to electronic media and newspapers Journalists who work for these organizations do not work for a particular station or paper The Associated Press Reuters