Social Organisation
Approaches II
ICT
Introduction to Communications Theory
Lecture Outline
return to the gatekeeper
PM versus Gatekeeping
personal values and beliefs
agenda-setting
the internet and gatekeepers
newsworthiness
news values
PM versus Gatekeeping
the PM:
mainly focuses on EXTERNAL factors
part of the political-economic framework
gatekeeping:
mainly focuses on INTERNAL factors
part of the social organisation approach
PM political-
economic
gate- social
keeping organisation
from McQuail, Chapter 11
Gatekeeping
applies to many forms of media
and communications
not just the news!
POWER over decisions
White’s 1950s model
subjectivity: personal values and
beliefs
later models
organisational or ideological
music
industry
McQuail, Chapter 12
organisational
role hides institutional
personal
professional
beliefs or
values
power or
status allows
expression of
personal
beliefs or
values
McQuail, Chapter 11
middle class, white, male
Agenda-Setting
gatekeeping also relates to agenda-setting
selection decisions influence the audience
what do we talk about?
The Internet and Gatekeepers
are there any gatekeepers
on the internet?
can we hear all voices and
read about all stories on the
internet?
is the internet regulated?
Playing Internet Curveball with Traditional
Media Gatekeepers (Poor)
the Boston Red Sox wanted baseball pitcher Curt
Shilling to join their team
during the trade negotiations Shilling visited a Red Sox
fans website to chat with fans
wanted to find out more about Red Sox fans and the
baseball atmosphere in Boston
also wanted to clarify what was happening in the trade
talks and clear up some of the misinformation
a “milestone”
It was another milestone in the
evolution of the Internet. Curt
Schilling used this as a way to
communicate with the public
during his blockbuster trade from
Arizona, showing how celebrities
increasingly are circumventing
traditional media/PR channels
and interacting directly with fans
who pay to see them perform.
(Newman, 2003)
Shilling intentionally avoided traditional
gatekeepers (radio, newspapers, television,
magazines, etc.)
which impressed fans
mainstream media sensed a threat and were not
happy
they normally have a monopoly on sports stars
the internet has changed the media environment
is the internet completely without gatekeepers?
gatekeeping is near its end: given enough different media
channels, almost everything will get through somewhere
Newsworthiness and News Values
newsworthiness:
“information most worthy of transformation into
news stories” (Campbell, p. 479)
relates to whether a story should be reported or not
news value:
“an attribute of a news event that transforms it into an
interesting ‘story’ for an audience” (McQuail, Chpt 12)
“systematically construct” the news (Branston &
Stafford, p. 196)
unspoken, unconscious, taken for granted
Newsworthiness
importance
McQuail, Chapter 12
McQuail, Chapter 12
Personalization
events seen as the actions of people as individuals
Drama
MSNBC’s Morning Show: Mika
Brzezinski
I have an apology as well and that is for our lead
story. I didn’t choose it.
She’s not a journalist anymore, is she?
[guy discusses another story]
You’d think we’d lead with that story. My
producer isn’t listening to me, he’s put it as the
lead.
[after the guy smells it] I’m about to snap.
CNN Celebrity Blackout Attempt
I wonder if we could get the Lindsey Lohan DUI
arrest out of the teleprompter and put my script
in. Is that possible? Here’s some … apparently
it’s not.
Immediacy
recent
speed
being first
being live
COMPETITION
GOOD PICTURES
television is particularly influenced
temptation to select stories with good images and reject
stories without good images
“About 1000 people were drowned when a ferry sank on
Lake Victoria in 1996. There were no pictures because
no one has camera crews near Mwanza, Tanzania. No
pictures, no TV story – just a mention. But every time
there’s a brisk breeze in Florida we have a hurricane
story because pictures pour in from American
networks.” (Branston & Stafford, p. 197)
From BBC Editor’s Blog:
1) half of the newsroom - and one of the
presenters - went "aahhhhh";
2) the other half of the newsroom - and the other
presenter - said "why are we running this
worthless fluff?“;
3) the editor thought: where does the balance lie
between news value and picture power?
there is always room - particularly on a
continuous news channel - for items that are
rather less important than they are interesting
Proximity: being close to home
“… if crashes occur far
away, say in Asia, they
are not as newsworthy
as if they occur in
Europe; and they achieve
paramount value if they
occur at home,
preferably in the Greater
London area.”
(Schlesinger 1987)
From the BBC’s Editors Blog:
Here are some stark statistics:
• Around 30 to 40 people are killed every day in the
current Israel/Lebanon conflict.
• About 100 people are killed every day in the violence in
Iraq.
• And 1,200 people are killed every day in the war in the
Congo.
All three of these stories are due to appear on tonight's Ten
O'Clock News. They will probably run in that order - with
the Middle East getting by far the most attention.
Does this say something about how we value human life?
It's a fair question and one I worry about.
The reasons in brief:
war in the Congo: going on for decades
Iraq: led the way in attempting to show the scale of
violence
regularly led the programme with stories from there
the Middle East needs more time and space
sheer complexity - need space to provide context and
analysis
plugs into so many other stories around the world, from
what Tony Blair and George W. Bush call the "War on
Terror", through to the price of oil, even the situation in
Afghanistan
many fear the consequences of conflict in the Middle
East more than anywhere else, and it is our job to help
people understand a "scary world"