1. Journalism Principles and Practices
What’s News?
Journalism Principles and Practices

2. The definition of news...
Best definitions are jokes...
What an editor says is news
Same thing happening to different people

3. But we can try for a definition...
Timeliness
Magnitude
Unusual aspects of a story
Direct or indirect identification
Drama

4. Unusual aspects of news...
Sometimes no one pays attention until camera is pointed right way
Inherent bias toward and against certain types of stories - toward visual, away from complex

5. What is Fake News Nothing New Short messages saying unfit
Phony letters
Phony edition of newspaper
Canards
Fact is, can spin “truth” or grain of “truth” any way you want

6. What is Fake News, Continued…
Fake news is industry…
Chum grids
“Denver Guardian” and the like
Error not necessarily fake news but can become fake news

7. Spotting Fake News Domain name Is author published elsewhere?
Is this old story taken out of context?
Google reverse search
Factcheck.org, politifact.com, Snopes.com
It is a joke?
Fake expert
Background of survey
Does body of story match heaadline?
Is it “viral” or from social media?

8. In addition, news is...
Often something that happens, but often pseudo-event
Pseudo-event is also part of managing news cycle
Waging symbolism

9. Perfect example: Economic Crisis of 2008
How did it happen?
Story about economic policy -- drives some laws
Economic policy used as tool for “social good”
In addition to regulation, have deregulation -- both are used to influence public good

10. Laws made to enforce “public good”...
Cigarettes -- tax in NJ 2.70, NY 2.75
Liquor
Student loan interest
Deductions on mortgage
Corporations

11. Deregulation works for some but not for others
Airfares to Tampa
Communication act and how it benefited cable tv

12. But popular legislation can lead to bad policy
Regulators and legislators pander to groups
Sometimes don’t understand implications
Effects are right in this room

13. The Bottom Line Trust Perception
And note...both those qualities are generated through media

14. Case History of Media Symbiosis with Major News Event
The meltdown was caused by perception
Mortgages were the main cause...
Deregulation affordable homes
Wall St. took advantage of corporate structure

15. More about the mortgage crisis...
Securitized
Sliced and diced
No model for if it tanked
Credit default swaps
Moral Hazard

16. Setting the stage...
We have a story that fits all the definition of news
The purpose of news is to explain
One purpose of government is to get public opinion to support its actions

17. Note the pseudo-events...
Press conferences
Capital injections
Bankruptcy of Lehman
Trial Balloon
Classic example of the news cycle at work

18. Viewing Guide for “Too Big to Fail”
What’s Ahead:
This film begins the second major section of our course content: understanding news, the news cycle, the news industries, and why and how news is important. It bridges the first section – critical thinking – by showing how pseudo-events (events designated for media coverage) can in reality be as important as “real” events. Note how the major players involved were concerned, even obsessed, with press coverage and public perception.
Think about the “What’s News” chapter you read for today and how those concepts in the definition of news relate to this story as it unfolded.

19. Viewing Guide, continued...
Why It’s Important
Each year JPP takes a major news event and focuses on it in some depth in order to have a coherent case history that can be used to study how news is reported, its effects, and its importance.
The global financial crisis is certainly the top story of the year and perhaps the century so far; it underlies the presidential campaigns, the unemployment rate, the crisis in Europe, and all of our futures.

20. Viewing Guide, conclusion...
Things to Watch for in the Film:
Note how in the financial world perception is sometimes just as important as reality. In fact, as perception drives stock prices, it IS reality.
Pay attention to the importance of news coverage as depicted in this film. The lions of Wall Street and Washington were fixated on CNBC’s coverage, for example.
Think about the difficult task handed the news media: Explaining a complicated story – a story so complex that even the movers and shakers didn’t completely understand it.