Richard E. Caplan The University of Akron 12. News and Information Christopher Burnett California State, Long Beach
Cooperative & For-Profit News Gathering New York Associated Press, 1848 –Six New York papers pooled foreign telegraph news costs –Became the Associated Press (AP) United Press, 1884 –For profit news service, competed with AP –Became United Press International (UPI)
Other News Services Agence France-Presse –France Reuters –Great Britain Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR)Information Telegraph Agency of Russia Agenzia Nationale Stampa Associata (ANSA)Agenzia Nationale Stampa Associata –Italy Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)Deutsche Presse Agentur –Germany Xinhua –China jmmelton/motleyimage
Civil War & Photojournalism The Civil War and censorship of the news –Government accreditation –Press passes The Birth of Photojournalism –Matthew Brady 1st national news photographer 3500 war photos –Life magazine –Margaret Bourke-White Early photojournalist Acme/Corbis Brady Bourke-White Bettman/Corbis
Tabloid News Takes Over Early 20th Century expansion Yellow journalism –Fierce competition New York alone had 10 daily newspapers –Penny papers –Grisly crime, illicit sex and large, graphic photos Radio’s influence –Shared audience
Newsreels News at the movies British Pathe – Fox Movietone News – minutes long Narrated Weekly updates Employed over 1000 camera people Global coverage –Entertainment, travel, sports, features, etc.
Radio: The Sounds of WWII Ernie Pyle –Print reporter from the front Edward R. Murrow –The London Blitz, 1940 Painting pictures with words Covered important events from Radio station news departments –Maintained until format radio era Formed the foundation for television news Scripps Howard News Service Ernie Pyle
The Golden Age of TV News John F. Kennedy –Presidential debates –Inauguration –Cuban Missile Crisis –Assassination, 1963 Vietnam War –Chicago Democratic Convention, 1968 –Candid war coverage Watergate –1973 Burglary –Nixon’s resignation, 1974 Johnson sworn in after Kennedy’s death AP/Wide World Photo
TV News Expands & Contracts Local News expansion –Up to 2 hours local TV news Broadcast deregulation, 1980s –Network consolidation –Local stations bought out Cable News Network –Round the clock news –Global presence –Alternative to networks 1990s Decline –Internet affect –Network and local decline Korin Ziv/Corbis/Sigma CNN’s Christian Amanpour
TV News Viewing Trends Illustration 12.1
Iraq War Military-press relations War coverage “Embedded” Reporters –600 reporters –Frontline access –Military control –Reversal of past policies –Non-stop coverage Iraq War reporters Spencer Platt/Getty Images
News on the Internet Internet: nonstop information Service providers (AOL) compile headlines and news links from many sources Targeted to individual needs Replacing TV news –44% go online for news once a week –25 % go to Internet as chief source of news More news available from many sources
Top Ranking Internet News Sites Illustration 12.2
Earnings for Local News People Illustration 12.3
Trends among Journalists No evidence that reporters insert ideology into their stories More minorities Gains for women Journalists are unlikely to challenge prevailing political and social values. Conformity in reporting. Consensus Journalism?
Blurring Distinctions: News, Reality Shows and Advertising “Reality TV” –“Survivor,” “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol,” “America’s Most Wanted” –Lines blurred between news and entertainment Infomercials –Making advertising look like documentary news Entertainment-driven news –Constructing news broadcasts along entertainment lines Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Journalists’ News Values Agenda-Setting Function –Not telling what to think but what to think about Ethnocentrism –American bias Altruistic Democracy Responsible Capitalism Small-Town Pastoralism Individualism Moderatism Order Leadership –Attention focused on leaders (e.g. the U.S. president)
Source and Credibility Confidentiality of sources –Woodward & Bernstein “Deep Throat” & Watergate Mark Felt, FBI agent –Judith Miller, New York Times –Mark Cooper, Time Both ordered to reveal source of CIA leak case Miller spent four months in jail –Shield Laws Protect journalists against revealing sources No federal shield law Credibility and audience –The Internet has captured audience credibility Bernstein (L) and Woodward Win McNamee/Getty Images
Views of News Media Illustration 12.4
Critical Discussion 1.During the war with Iraq in 2003, hundreds of journalists were embedded with military units and reported under carefully controlled conditions. Many hailed the practice as a new era in war reporting. Others criticized it as pro- war propaganda. What do you think? 2.Recent cases have revived the controversy over confidential sources as the basis for news stories. Should journalists be required to reveal their sources if ordered to do so by a judge?