Lecture 9

There are things happening all around the world in every second, but how can the news use merely few pages to present the “world of the day”? Are these news “special” in some way? Within this lecture, Dr Redman introduced us to the concept of “news value” which serves as the measurement of whether a story is qualified as news or not.

l  What is news value?

Within journalism, there is a broadly agreed set of values called ‘news value’ or ‘newsworthiness’.

There are four main elements that constructed news value and can be used as the measurement for the degree of newsworthiness:

Impact-The prominence a media outlet gives to a story, and the attention that is paid by an audience.

Audience identification-stories that are of target audience’s interest. Ex: anything that may be relevant to the target audience: relevant to the world, local, culture etc.

Pragmatics-ethics –facticity-practice / practical

current affairs –everyday (24-7 news)

Source influence-the source of news may be influenced by PR; thus the news release and context may be dependent on how PR spins the stories.

Many things happen in a day, but only a small proportion of them are selected to become news. The day’s news is selected according to the news value and the degree of its associated importance. This may vary across different news services, culture and society as the target audience and the societal or cultural context such news exists in vary as well. In addition, in selection of news, journalists usually relies on instinct of sensing the news value instead of logic.

l  News value at work

Convert triangle-News is organized into the degree of importance:

1^st most news worthy information-2^nd important details- 3^rd other general info/ background.

l  Type of news value

Negativity-bad news, “if it bleeds, it leads”

(Malala Yousafzai being shot by Taliban)

Proximity-high relevancy to the target audience culturally or geographically; story can be made meaningful for particular audience this way. “If it’s local, it leads”

(Brisbane Zombie Walk)

Recency-as fast as possible in terms of the speed in breaking news.

Currency-continuous reporting of stories that that has established its value within the public.

(The continuous debate on Carbon tax)

Continuity-following up of previous stories.

(After so many yeats, there is still following up story about "dingo ate my baby"; interview with the mother is still taken place in the recent years)

Uniqueness –Novelty, unusual event.

(Flix Baumgartner, jumps down from the highest height above ground and break the world reocrd)

Simplicity-succinct and straight forward, easy for audience to engage with.

(Busgfires is a topic that people are familiar with in Australia)

  

Predictability-fit into the particular target audience and its news agency’s expectation and interest.

(The News fits US audience's perspective and expectation)

Elite Nations or People-any stories that cover an important or powerful nation or people.

(PM Julia Gillard)

Exclusivity-a major factor in setting news agenda; to be the first and only one to break the news.

(Live and exclusive interview)

Size-higher the degree of the people, resource and society being impact or involved higher the news value.

(SARS)

Entertainment-entertaining or ‘Mickey Mouse’ news that serves to please the audience.

(PSY in Australia)

Human interest-emotional news or of moral that is in human interest or related to humanity.

(US swimming coach is suspected to conduct sexual abuse on teenage girl)

Controversy-scandals, rooms for debate and discuss which creates tension.

(enthunasia)

Good news-positive news

(Australia won gold medal in Olympics)

l  Threats to news value

Journalism vs. Commercialization of media and social life

Journalism vs. Public Relations

Journalism’s ideals vs. Journalism’s reality

According to Dr Redman, in contemporary journalism industry, news is no longer just pure facts being reported. External power, forces and spinning of PR has influenced on the coverage of stories, controlling what people can know, and how things can be known as, which generally serves the interest of the power who control the media. Instead of presenting the truth, news being presenting as ‘factual events happen in the world’ may then become means of ideologies working. Subsequently, commercialization of media and social life then costs news to be less credible.

l  Future of News value

As the form of News steps up to the age of new media, whereas produsage prevails, tradition news value may shift as well. For me, I think as new media give rise to citizen journalists, than the one who breaks the news may more often be the one at the happening of the event, instead of who work as journalist who need to rush to the spot. Therefore, I think exclusivity or recency that traditional media institution holds may than not be the news value that they keep anymore. I think instead of speed, if professional journalists are to survive, they need to be able to deliver something that can only be done by “them” instead of anyone, for example, unique skills in investigating events in-depth. Hence, I think investigative journalism may be the news value in the new media age.

l  Extra Material

l  News value by Lisa Granatstein

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/213658983

l  Gender issue: media news value?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922778/?tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract

l  PR people and the trade press disagree about news value

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/210203977

l  News value by John Lipton

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/230354984

l  Free speech, the commercialisation of news value judgments and the future of the ABC

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Free+speech%2C+the+commercialisation+of+news+value+judgments+and+the+future+of+the+ABC&rft.jtitle=University+of+New+South+Wales+Law+Journal&rft.au=Dempster%2C+Quentin&rft.date=2005-01-01&rft.pub=Wm.+W.+Gaunt+and+Sons+Inc&rft.issn=0313-0096&rft.volume=28&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=924&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=149437899

 

l  New trend, news value and new models

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=New+trends%2C+news+values%2C+and+new+models&rft.jtitle=New+Jersey+Journal+of+Communication&rft.au=Higgins%2C+M+A&rft.date=1996-01-01&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=82&rft.epage=90&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=CAX0190060001344

 

l  News value and country non-daily news reporting: The online revolutions’ impact

http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=451801896302585;res=IELHSS

 

l  Journalists’ and Public Relation Practitioners’ news value: perceptions and cross-perceptions

http://uq.summon.serialssolutions.com/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2BQAEZqkgkoppNTDC1SEs1Nk8xTLJKMLNIsk1JTDMEn8yNilAdRiLmJMoS6uYY4e-hC7wHQTQYdb6VrbGJmmGyRlAqsPYHmGiSaJQPbxCmWBsByFZTPU9PSTIxTgE1zk5REU4NkY2AlnmqenGiYZpRkbGlhZGJsLMbAAuxLp_Lx1q3V0vvnq7pe9mi7ls8fAQBhCis4

 

l  News value and narrative themes: irony, hypocrisy, and other enduring values

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/recordDetails.jsp?ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED324671&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED324671&_nfls=false&source=ae

 

Lecture 8

“How do we know what is wrong and what is right [in journalism practice]?”, Donna Meiklejohn, the guest speaker of the week throw the hard question that I had always wondered at us. Ms Meiklejohn is an experienced journalist in the field and a UQ Lecturer in this area. “15 years as a journalist, there was not a day went by that I don’t have to deal with such dilemma”, said Ms Meiklejohn. She addressed the issue of ethic in journalism as she guided us through the areas of ethics theory, codes and public interests.

l  Ethics Theory

According to Ms Meikelejohn, there are three major ethics theories.

Ÿ   Deontology-following the regulations equals to doing the right thing.

The three major ethical codes for media workers:

Journalists-Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA)

PR-Public relations Institute of Australia (PRIA)/ Australian Association of National Advertisers

Nonetheless, Ms Meikelejohn emphasized that the effect of codes are limited as most of the rules are lack of legal effect; thus, they only serve as a sanction.

 Ÿ   Consequentialism

If ‘good’ or ‘desired’ outcome is achieved and the story may served as the greatest good for the greatest number, any mean that is used during the procedure is justified.

Nonetheless, the issue with this theory is that the ‘greatest good’ and the ‘receiver of the good’ may be different for everyone; hence, the meaning of such ‘outcome’ is ambiguous. And if such ‘positive’ outcome is not achieved, the practiced of journalism is left unjustified. This obscure nature makes the judgment based on Consequentialism problematic as there is no exact way of practicing it. 

Ÿ   Virtue-if the journalism practice fits into one’s value of virtue, it is justified. There is the doctrine of mean, the virtue one seeks for is the balance point within the practice, too less or too much of it may be considered as vices. For example, ‘justice’ is the mean between the ‘in-justice of overzealous’ and ‘the injustice of lawlessness’.

Moreover, Ms Meikelejohn noted that as a journalist, the encounter of ethics concern in practice is the daily dilemma as different stories comes up frequently and consideration of ethics is required. Therefore, there wouldn’t have time for journalists to analysis the ethical issue on the job, so it is suggested that people should understand the ethics before they step in this profession.

Also, Ms Meikelejohn noted that the biggest controversy of journalism practice is the invasion of privacy being weighed against public interests.

l  Public interest

According to the survey result Ms Meikekejohn supplied, most of the audience supposed that public interest is about the audience having the right and need to obtain knowledge. For example, the issues that affect people directly or of national interest (security of country) should be known by the public.

l  My Journalism Ethics

From this lecture, I found that public interest and ethics in journalism are very subjective subjects and there is no objective view because everyone’s value and belief are different.

For me, I think the balance between public interest should be balanced with my virtue ethics of not hurting myself as much as possible (both mentally and physically). I do understand that there must be unlikable job that a journalist need to do, but if it is threatening my mentality or survival that shall hugely dysfunction myself, I won’t do it. For example, if I know reporting a certain political scandal story falsely will cost people to die, I don’t think I will do it unless I’m threaten that if I don’t do the story I will die. This is because I don’t think I can live with that for the rest of my life and would probably have serious depression. However, on normal occasion, I will probably just follow the deontology, since not violating laws keep me safe.

Consequently, I think I lean to the virtue ethics of ‘doing the right thing for myself’ and ‘keeping myself safe’. Because life is life, and journalist is only a job, I am not going to let a job to cost my life. If you’re dead, it’s game over; what talk about job, then?

l  Extra Material

l  Journalism ethics

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book&rft.genre=book&rft.title=Journalism+Ethics&rft.date=2010-02-16&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.isbn=9780195370805&rft_id=info:doi/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aoso%2F9780195370805.001.0001&rft.externalDocID=9780195370805_20100216_1_1L_1l_1

l  Journalism ethics: a philosophy approach

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book&rft.genre=book&rft.title=Journalism+ethics&rft.series=Practical+and+professional+ethics+series&rft.date=2010-02-17&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press+-+Special&rft.isbn=9780195370805&rft.externalDocID=9780199708031

l  Journalism, ethics and society

http://www.uql.eblib.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=438549&echo=1&userid=hcgL%2bj1M4mzF52nBiuirS%2fbUwsXxC0Dz&tstamp=1350825357&id=ED8756842A469FD509DE6DBFAFBD074167C26575

l  Media and journalism ethics

http://www.uql.eblib.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=588538&echo=1&userid=hcgL%2bj1M4mzF52nBiuirS%2fbUwsXxC0Dz&tstamp=1350825425&id=E537A52755DEEF5EC0D140700BDE14AA5A70C48B

l  The glocalisation of journalism ethics

http://jou.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/content/9/2/163

l  Making hard choices in journalism ethics: cases and practice

http://www.uql.eblib.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=496295&echo=1&userid=hcgL%2bj1M4mzF52nBiuirS%2fbUwsXxC0Dz&tstamp=1350825542&id=B16376281582DE9099192E66C999FFA90A15C152

l  Journalism ethics for a new era

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?paramdict=en-gb&genre=article&spage=84&SS_issnh=0890-0523&SS_sid=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&issn=08900523&SS_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fuq.summon.serialssolutions.com%2Fsearch%3Fs.cmd%3DaddFacetValueFilters%28IsFullText%2Ctrue%29%26s.fvf%255B%255D%3DContentType%2CTrade%2BPublication%2BArticle%2Ct%26s.fvf%255B%255D%3DContentType%2CBook%2BReview%2Ct%26s.fvf%255B%255D%3DLanguage%2CEnglish%2C%26s.fvf%255B%255D%3DContentType%2CNewspaper%2BArticle%2Ct%26s.q%3Dethics%2Bjournalism&issue=1&date=2011-01-21&externaldbid=n%2Fa&aulast=Christians&externaldocid=10_1080_08900523_2011_532380&atitle=Journalism+Ethics+for+a+New+Era&title=Journal+of+Mass+Media+Ethics&localeid=2057&aufirst=Clifford+G.&paramdict=en-gb&jtitle=Journal+of+Mass+Media+Ethics&SS_LibHash=CF5PM8SZ2L&sid=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&SS_authors=Christians%2C+Clifford+G&SS_source=56&l=CF5PM8SZ2L&SS_ReferentFormat=JournalFormat&SS_meta_enhanced=true&SS_doi=10.1080%2F08900523.2011.532380&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&au=Christians%2C+Clifford+G.&volume=26&SS_RequestType=1&epage=88&&SS_PostParamDict=disableOneClick

l  Ethics in journalism

http://uq.summon.serialssolutions.com/search?s.cmd=addFacetValueFilters(IsFullText,true)&s.fvf%5B%5D=ContentType,Trade+Publication+Article,t&s.fvf%5B%5D=ContentType,Book+Review,t&s.fvf%5B%5D=Language,English,&s.fvf%5B%5D=ContentType,Newspaper+Article,t&s.q=ethics+journalism

l  Journalism, ethics and commonsense

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/stable/10.2307/2377555?origin=api&

l  Online journalism ethics; tradition and transitions

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/199687064

l  Ethics in journalism-accuracy, honesty and credibility

http://cf5pm8sz2l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Ethics+in+journalism+-+accuracy%2C+honesty%2C+and+credibility&rft.jtitle=J+Am+Soc+Echocardiogr&rft.au=Pearlman%2C+AS&rft.date=2008-05-01&rft.issn=0894-7317&rft.volume=21&rft.issue=5&rft.spage=507&rft.externalDocID=230427810_2_jorg_journal_source_MI_sp_20648216_sid_1097815415_N_642360_s0894731708001946_pdf_SEQNO_821_issn_0894_7317

Lecture 7

With trust and confidence, Dr Redman stood for his workplace, ABC, a major public media in Australia. “[Public media] is less biased… [the content] is about what is important”, stated Dr Redman. He placed his argument as he led us through the topics of public media’s landscape, function, style, challenges and future.

 

l  Definition, Function and Style

Definition & Its Landscape

Public media’s purpose is to serve the public, it can be in both old or new media form. It is generally government funded (at arm’s length) or license funded. Unlike commercial media which is all about the money, public media’s ultimate purpose is to serve the public instead of turning a profit. There are public media all over the world; generally their responsibility is about giving its audience a sense of their nationality. Additionally, public media’s function and communication style often includes ‘the press’ (ex: the insider), entertainment (drama), utility (weather report), social (cooking) and propaganda (ex: promoting the government). In Australia, public media includes ABC and SBS.

Even though both ABC and SBS are funded by government and supported by tax payment (SBS is also partly funded by private sectors as well), they may be seen as editorially independent as its working is governed by its own charters and funding Acts while neither one is a government charter. Thus, Australia’s public media may not be seen as part of the ‘public service’, but as a part of public charter with autonomy. And according to Dr Redman, such organization supports the process of democracy.

Building a Nation: Public Media as Public Good

“[Public media] certainly is in support of public and democratic processes-very important”, claimed Dr Redman. He accounted that ABC is doing this by providing ‘public value’ via embedding ‘public service ethos’, weighing public value against market impact and public consultation. This is done by uniting the nation through providing quality programs that cater all Australians across the whole country. Public media intends to achieve nation building that ensures all Australians get the content of ABC and SBS; this provides something ‘common’ among the whole nation. Such content is about national heritage (Australia’s history and natural beauty), national identity (who/ where do Australians come from), national conversations (Rugby League, The Ball etc). Also, Dr Redman added that ABC tends to distance itself from all vast interest and influence; thus, it provides programs in a liberated and independent way. However, this may only be the ‘prospect’ instead of the ‘reality’ of public media.

Possibility of Hidden Hegemony

I think it may be debatable that such view is too positive (and so does Dr Redman as he mentioned the risk of breeding ideologies in public media). Crowning public media as impartial ‘public good’ may hide the exercising of ideologies underneath the mask of such impression. It is almost impossible to have ‘provision for everyone in the country’-the question being is who is the one to judge who is the ‘Australians’ and what kind of nation is Australia? According to Davis and Mules (2006), this is where ideologies play in; they stated that “ideology is about the ‘ideas’ held in common by social groups in everyday life”, and as each social group has different interests, it is impossible for them to all hold the same idea of who and what consisted the nation of Australia. For example, while some social groups may propose ‘White Australia’ is the way others may reckon the real Australians are only the Aboriginals. Moreover, these discourses compete to be the dominant ideology that Australia should follow. Even though ABC and SBS intend to represent ‘both sides of the story’, it is unrealistic for them to include and represent all ideologies equally. From my perspective, I think the sense of ‘national identity and community’ that ABC and SBS intend to represent is that Australia is a Caucasian dominated yet multicultural society. Even though there may be other voices, as ABC and SBS are masked as the ‘neutral’ public media, they may create hegemony that mask the ideology they present as ‘truth’. It is the form of ideology in which the values and interests of the hegemonic group are experienced by others as already their own, and thus already consented to. We may be oriented to behave ourselves according to the hegemonic groups without knowing it because we are so indulged in it. Subsequently, I hardly agree with that public media “supported the public and democracy process” as ABC and SBS’s intention to reinforcing a certain nationality of Australia must be silencing some social groups in the society at the same time. However, I agree with Dr Redman that public media may be influenced by the impact of hegemony less as it is not directly controlled by forces as the state model and commercial media.

‘Like’ Quality News of Public Media

Furthermore, another major feature of ABC and SBS is that their mechanism of news informs the audience in a more conservative and investigative style. Quoting from Richter, Dr Redman accounted that “[public media] is the last bastion of long-form investigative journalism.” This is because so far ABC is the only one that does more in-depth analysis journalism and the only source of lengthy interviews with nation leaders and politicians in the form other than talkback. Even though such form is starting to emerge in Sky News as well, since it is owned by the right winged Murdoch, it’s considered as more biased and less trustworthy. Nonetheless, as the most neutral media among all kinds, ABC and SBS are being seen as more conservative and perhaps boring. According to Dr Redman, ABC’s News does not intends to affirm itself with the audience. It’s main focus is about releasing important and serious news in a ‘broadsheet style’ that is knowledgeable. Though negativity such as attracting limited interests that is out of touch and offending funder (government) may impact on funding and production, it seems like news with ‘value’ actually suits many Australians’ need. This is indicated as 41% of Australians get their news from ABC and each week 12.6 million Australians watch ABC TV. In addition, from my experience of watching ABC news, I found that it does provide a more integrity content than Nine News, which often exaggerates stories to entertain its audience.

  

l  Challenge

The challenge for public media in Australia is to inform ‘all Australians’ with balanced, accurate, relevant and quality production in an independent way while securing its ‘source’ of funding which comes from the government and companies (SBS). Australian public media’s role of being the watchdog of the funders constantly ‘bites the hand that feeds it’. According to Dr Redman, this has caused the funding of ABC to be dry and hugely impacts on its production quality. He states that government can indirectly limit ABC’s autonomy by its funding of certain projects and legislation. Hence, for the Australian public media, there is always political pressure. Such lack of political independence can be indicated by targeted funding. In addition, ABC’s control by other parties can be observed on their The Drum.com, whereas journalists’ opinions on political parties mostly reflect Liberal’s view (58%) while others are marginalized (Labour 31%, Green 7%, Independent 3%, Nationals 0%).

Also, public media which is commercialized may face commercial pressure as well. As a result, public media struggles to avoid allegation of bias.

l  Future: Public Media 2.0

Due to the emergent of new media, the internet had created the environment of public media 2.0 for the current public media to adapt to. The internet which allows news being produced by and for the public had created a participatory culture. Such participatory culture may be seen as enhancing the ‘democratic process’ that Australian public media intends to achieve because anyone can get involved in the production of news. As Clark, the director of Future of Public Media Project stated, public media institution should play the leadership role to develop, standardized and publicized the content and environment of public media 2.0 while working with the public. Clark claims that by this way, public media can reach out more than its traditional demography of mass audience and provide a more equalized platform for all to have a say.

Recounting from the understanding I gained in the lecture whereas Dr Redman talked about new media, he said that there is no going back for the news media to not get involved with internet because everyone and everything is on internet today. Thus, I think it is not an ‘option’ for the current institutions to upgrade to public media 2.0; it’s indeed, a ‘must’. I observed that all my friends mostly get their news from internet instead of TV; therefore, if public media want to continue to survive within the coming generations, starting to prepare and set up public media 2.0 now may allows it to win at the starting line and secure its social status.

l  Extra Material

l  Australian public media

ABC http://www.abc.net.au/

SBS http://www.sbs.com.au/

l  The future and challenge of Public Media

(UQ Library Materials (Login with UQ ID)

l  The future of public media

https://www.library.uq.edu.au/uqlais/login?return=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlicmFyeS51cS5lZHUuYXUvZXpwX3RpY2tldC5waHA/dXJsPWh0dHAlM2ElMmYlMmZ3d3cudGFuZGZvbmxpbmUuY29tJTJmb3BlbnVybCUzZmdlbnJlJTNkYXJ0aWNsZSUyNmlkJTNkZG9pJTI1M2ExMC4xMDgwJTI1MkYxMzY5MTE4MDA1MDEyMzcwMw==

l  Content online and the end of public media? The U.K an canary in the coal mine?

https://www.library.uq.edu.au/uqlais/login?return=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlicmFyeS51cS5lZHUuYXUvZXpwX3RpY2tldC5waHA/dXJsPWh0dHAlM2ElMmYlMmZkeC5kb2kub3JnJTJmMTAuMTE3NyUyNTJGMDE2MzQ0MzcxMTQyMjQ1OQ==

l  Private Equity is a problem for public media

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l  The "epidemic of obesity" in the public media: A discourse analysis https://www.library.uq.edu.au/uqlais/login?return=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlicmFyeS51cS5lZHUuYXUvZXpwX3RpY2tldC5waHA/dXJsPWh0dHAlM2ElMmYlMmZwcm9xdWVzdC51bWkuY29tJTJmcHFkbGluayUzZmRpZCUzZDExNjY1OTE1NzElMjZGbXQlM2QyJTI2cnF0JTNkMzA5 l  The Sky is (not) the Limit: Envisioning the Ultimate Public Media Display https://www.library.uq.edu.au/uqlais/login?return=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlicmFyeS51cS5lZHUuYXUvZXpwX3RpY2tldC5waHA/dXJsPWh0dHAlM2ElMmYlMmZkeC5kb2kub3JnJTJmMTAuMTE3NyUyNTJGMTQ3MDQxMjkxMDM2NDI5MQ==   l  “Hegemony” that might hide in public media (chapter 8, ideology) http://library.uq.edu.au/search~S7?/rCOMU1000/rcomu1000/1,2,2,B/frameset~2188932&FF=rcomu1000+st+lucia&1,1

Annotated Bibliography

  

Pounds, G. (2010). Attitude and subjectivity in Italian and British hard-news reporting: The construction of a culture-specific ‘reporter’ voice. Discourse Studies, 12(1), 106-137. Retrieved from

http://dis.sagepub.com/content/12/1/106

 

The author, Dr Gabrina Pounds, the Lecturer in University of East Anglia, sophisticatedly crafted an in-depth investigation into the English hard news reporting culture. Her more than two decades investigation into news discourse enables her work to be accredited by Discourse Studies, an authoritative peer-reviewed Communication journal that is ranked as the world’s 35th best by the 2011 Journal Citation Reports. Dr Pounds’ article explores that though hard news is traditionally seem to be impersonal, news always contains subjectivity as it exists in a society whereas ideologies are always at work. Even though some argues that public media is more objective than commercial media, according to Dr Pounds, the difference within subjectivity between them is mainly just the level of ‘explicitness’. Dr Pounds argues that through the combination of appraisal choices (the attitude in news stories), specific ‘evaluative voice’ and authorial stance that are dependent on the context are constructed. Through the investigation of appraisal system, theories and the comparison between English hard news and foreign news, Dr Pounds emphasis that English hard news features avoiding direct indication, using mediated inscribed judgment, frequent reporting of observed affectual responses and specific selection of word choices. Through the extensive citation from various academic sources, diagrams and background information, the article perspicuously demonstrates the elements that construct hard news such as the story of Taliban’s attack on a schoolgirl. This story has been covered by ABC News (internet), Sky News (TV) and The Australian (print).

  

 

 

Khan, R., & Santana, R (2012). Shooting of Pakistan Girl Activist Sparks Outrage. Retrieved from

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/shooting-pakistan-girl-activist-sparks-outrage-17440167

 

The ABC website news article, written by Rebecca Santana and Rina Khan, delivered a relatively multi-angle coverage on Taliban’s attack on Malala Yousufzai. Beginning with the description of how Yousufzai, a 14-year-old school girl is shot by Taliban because she advocates girl’s educational right, the article then places heavy focus on various parties’ reactions to this matter. This article includes a lot of statements from Yousufzai’s supporting side, such as major power, U.S and Pakistani officials, and locals’ rallies and prayers for Yousufzai. Also, the article reports the opposition’s statement, such as the Taliban and some other Pakistanis. The article then wraps up by the analysis made by local political analyst and journalist; this enables the audience to view the overall situation at a relatively critical perspective. According to Dr Pounds’ appraisal model, the author’s stance of leaning towards supporting Yousufzai is revealed by the major focus on Yousufzai’s supporters’ observed affectual responses. However, when comparing with the news from Sky News and The Australian, this article is relatively neutral as it distances itself from partiality by evaluating the opposition’s statement. Such impartial stance of ABC may because of that it is a public media governed by its own branch without direct control from external forces. Thus, it is reputed as non-bias by 85% of Australians.

 

 

  

Sky News (Writer). (2012, October 11). Sky News [Television Broadcast].      Brisbane, Australia: Sky News Australia.

 

As a commercial media, Sky News’ ultimate purpose is to generate audience for advertisers. It has dramatized its TV’s coverage on Yousufzai’s story to create larger public interest. The story opens with the scene of mass Pakistanis protesting for Yousufazai, while the voice –over emotionally states “Shocked, but defiant. Women all over Pakistan have taken to the street in massive”. The video then follows by the emphasis on Yousufazai’s merits and achievements as a right advocator and its opposition Taliban’s militant outrage and shooting while images of the bloody van where Yousufzai is shot is shown. Subsequently, it can be seen that through the use of strong image, choice of words and authorial stance’s own interpretation of Pakistani public’s mental process, Sky news has strongly positions the audience to endorse its subjective view of “justice vs. evil”. In addition, the audio used to cover this story is serious and low, which creates a heavy atmosphere. Consequently, it can be observed that Sky News’ partiality stance is made apparent by the over-make up and personal-like narrative that demonstrates commercial media’s feature of creating interest over truth. Hence, in comparison with public media ABC, which is set to act as public service for information, Sky News’ credibility is relatively lower.

 

 

 

Hodge, A. (2012, October 11). If schoolgirl survives, we will get her again: Taliban. The Australian, p. 9.

Retrieved from Library.PressDispaly.

 

The Australian’s long-term establishment of half a century and its position as the best-selling national newspaper in the country has established itself as an authority in the field of journalism. Nonetheless, as part of the commercial media, its credibility of impartiality may be debatable. The Australian’s coverage on Yousufazai’s story emphasis on the critical medical condition of Yousufazai’s injury as it occupies most of the story with an enlarged image of Yousufazai lying on a hospital bed with blood while doctors are all surrounding her in the middle. This story has created a sense of serious condition as the author takes a quite explicit blaming stance towards Taliban via appraisal choices of emotional words and sarcasm which indicates personal judgment. For instance, the author uses descriptions like “brutal suppression”, “Malala was shot ‘point blank’ in the head” and sarcasm such as “thanks to the brutality of those same extremists, it was unclear whether she could ever return to her studies”. In comparison with the others’ coverage on this story, The Australian has delivered the most explicit subjectivity stance via unmasked appreciation and judgment. Additionally, its mere focus on Yousufazai’s medical condition is the narrowest among the three texts. Consequently, it indicates that The Australian’s story of Yousufazai is the most bias one as that only the perspective from Yousufazai’s side is reinforced in an emotional voice.   

 

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