News and Current Affairs - Essay Example

Values and processes that influence how events and situations become news Introduction According to Bainbridge, Goc and Tynan, news is seen as the entry point into the public sphere, the place where new ideas in the form of information and other issues gain entry into the general public life from their private origins.1 For this process to succeed, there are various factors which are used as the criteria that determine what kind of information, events and situations are passed on to the public sphere and, in the process, become news. This process can be seen within the context of the complex interaction between the media sphere and the general public sphere. Since the media plays a vital role in the lives of individuals in the current times by virtue of the fact that the public sphere is a completely virtual entity, it is important to understand the process by which events and situations are changed into news. In this essay, it is argued that there are several factors that act as values and processes which have been identified and developed over time that influence how events and situations become news. Values and processes In the current age, there are several values and processes that influence how events and situations become news. This is because the current nature of the public sphere has evolved in such a manner that the sphere has actually changed from the physical space that it was to an entirely virtual one in which the media plays a key role in enhancing interaction among individuals.2 Further, according to Ivancheva, the term news can be seen within multiple contexts depending on the way it is used.3 This is because in the current public sphere in which the media plays a key role, individuals are heavily influenced by news in different forms and of different varieties. There are several factors which are used to determine whether events and processes become news and therefore cross from the private to the public sphere or not. In general, there have been a number of different formulations by different academics which have attempted to develop a comprehensive list and description of such factors. Therefore, in the course of time, new additions and changes have been made to the earlier models of factors that are used as the criteria for determining what events and situations become news. However, there are a number of factors that have remained relevant over the course of time. For instance, factors that determine whether or not events and situations are changed into news for the media are identified in three key categories as follows: basic values, thematic values and other values.4 Under basic values, factors such as proximity, exoticism and human interest are considered important in determining how events are made into news.5 This varies with factors such as money, sex, conflict and mystery which are considered under thematic values that determine what kind of events and situations become news. Lastly, other values such as the environment, education, health and beauty are considered important factors that are used to gauge what kind of events are translated from the private to the public sphere as news. What this means is that events that are based on subjects such as sex, money and controversy in general are likely to be changed from the private to the public sphere as news. According to a model developed by Shoemaker et al., the process by which events and situations are changed into news is influenced by five key factors: proximity, scope, deviance, social significance and newsworthiness.6 With regard to proximity, events and situations are transformed into news depending on how close they are to the intended audience. This is due to the point that such events and situations that occur in an area close to or even far away from the intended audience are given a sense of closeness and familiarity to the intended audience.7 This implies that with the rise of new forms of media, media houses are able to distribute different forms of news to different types of audiences located in different geographical locations. As a result, those events that seem close to the intended audience are likely to enter into the public sphere as news than those which are not close. Another factor that affects the way events and situations are translated into news is the scope that the event or situation has on the intended audience. Generally, events that happen within a local situation may be given a much wider scope if the news is intended for the wider audience.8 In the same vein, events that may have happened in places that are geographically isolated from where the intended audience is located may be given a local twist to appeal to the interests of the local audience. By doing this, media outlets are able to address the domain of the events and situations as well as their implications. It is this approach that has been adopted by the SBS television in contextualising events and situations received from international news networks.9 Such events are repackaged and retold in such a manner that they have a psychological appeal to the local audience. Another value that is used to determine whether or not events become news is the level of deviance that they contain as a whole. Deviance, in this case, is seen as an element of the events or a situation that makes them completely different from what happens within the locality.10 In such a case, deviance may be seen in different forms. For instance, an event may be judged as deviant if its occurrence is in contradiction to the established social rules or norms.11 Further, deviant events and situations may be judged as so based on how disruptive they are to the status quo or the level of their intensity when measured against standards that are considered the average in the society.12 In all these cases, the events are considered as interesting to the audience because of the element of oddity that they contain. As such, such events and situations are easily transferred from the private to the public sphere as news. The last value that determines the way events are transformed into news, according to this model, is how socially significant the event or situation is. This factor is important in shaping news items because it determines whether or not events have an impact on the relationships between individuals in the society in different ways.13 This relationship is seen in terms of four different perspectives: economic, cultural, public and political. Therefore, events and situations that are deemed socially significant are easily transformed into news than those which are not. Apart from the basic values that have been identified as key factors that determine how events are transformed into news, there are several others that have been identified over of time. For instance, McGregor identifies four new values that are equally important as criteria for determining whether or not events and situations are transformed into news. One of them is the extent to which the event or situation is accompanied by visual elements.14 As such, stories that have been captured in images are more likely to be selected for news as compared to those that are not accompanied by images. In addition to the degree to which images are used, events that are selected for news are determined based on the level of emotional appeal that they have on the audience.15 Apart from the emotional appeal that is inherent in events, the extent to which events and situations satisfy the point-counterpoint format determines whether or not they will be selected as news. This is because such a format enhances the level of conflict in the story – a quality which is admirable in selecting events that make it to the news. The last value that is important in determining news items is the need to recognise and celebrate the role of the journalist.16 Events which recognise and celebrate the role of the journalist as not only the presenter but also the source of the news are most likely to be transformed into news items as opposed to those which fail to do so. Therefore, it can be seen that there are several values and processes that are used to determine how different events and situations are transferred from the private to the public sphere as news. Conclusion In conclusion, there are several factors that are used to determine what kind of events and situations are changed from being in the private sphere to entering the public sphere as news. These values and processes, which have been changing over time, are important because they determine what is passed over to the public in the current times when the media is regarded as an entity that plays a key role in the lives of individuals in the society. Different factors have been identified by different scholars over time. However, the important factors that are used in the process include proximity, scope and social significance. Events that are judged to be near to the intended audience are likely to be translated into news than those that are not. Also, scope refers to the relevance of the stories to the intended audience. Stories that are deemed to be psychologically relevant to the audience are likely to be transmitted as news than those that are not. Other values that are used in processing events and situations into news include the extent to which the stories are accompanied by visual elements, the level of emotional intensity involved and whether or not the events entail an element of conflict. Bibliography Ang Ien, Gay Hawkins and Lamia Daboussy, “News: At Home in the World,” in The SBS Story: The Challenge of Diversity, edited by Ien Ang, Gay Hawkins and Lamia Daboussy, 176 – 213. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2008. Bainbridge Jason, Nicola Goc and Liz Tynan, Media and Journalism: New Approaches to Theory and Practice. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2011. Brighton, Paul and Dennis Foy, News Values, London: Sage Publications, 2007. Clausen Lisa, Global News Production, Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press, 2003. Cramer Peter, Controversy as News Discourse New York: Springer, 2011. Ivancheva Theodora. “News Values – Revised.” Accessed August 14, 2014, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC0QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.nbu.bg%2F846%2F1%2FNews_Values_Revised.pdf&ei=XrnkU46WIsHT7AbNwoCoDQ&usg=AFQjCNGuCDnVjbrQWzwYRaLEcFFGxfkdTQ&sig2=hFdSWeYToYzLbymOOWvi7A&bvm=bv.72676100,d.bGE Johnson-Cartee Karen S., News Narratives and News Framing: Constructing Political Reality New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Jorge Thais De Mendonica. “News Values in News Websites: An Empirical Study of the Criteria of Newsworthiness in Argentina and Brazil.” Brazilian Journalism Research vol. 4, no. 1(2005): 53 - 71, Accessed August 8 2014, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEIQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbjr.sbpjor.org.br%2Fbjr%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F135%2F134&ei=XrnkU46WIsHT7AbNwoCoDQ&usg=AFQjCNHAeLwCIvZkeC39wObUORXCXyupUw&sig2=8nCJCtQ2U5c7REBJbkE9lQ&bvm=bv.72676100,d.bGE McGregor Judy. “Restating News Values: Contemporary Criteria for Selecting the News.” Accessed August 8 2014, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFMQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmmc.twitbookclub.org%2FMMC911%2FReadings%2FWeek%252003%2FJudy%2520McGregor%2520-%2520Final%2520Paper.PDF.pdf&ei=XrnkU46WIsHT7AbNwoCoDQ&usg=AFQjCNG1b6CrnHInq2yWL13zEWXvQiy2CA&sig2=OXQzF7tQJq66Oz1uEzG-vg&bvm=bv.72676100,d.bGE Shoemaker Pamela J., Hyuk Jong Lee, Kevin Han Gang and A. Akiba, “Proximity and Scope as News Values,” in Media Studies, Key Issues and Debates, edited by Eoin Devereux, 231-248. London: SAGE, 2007. Read More

What this means is that events that are based on subjects such as sex, money and controversy in general are likely to be changed from the private to the public sphere as news. According to a model developed by Shoemaker et al., the process by which events and situations are changed into news is influenced by five key factors: proximity, scope, deviance, social significance and newsworthiness.6 With regard to proximity, events and situations are transformed into news depending on how close they are to the intended audience.

This is due to the point that such events and situations that occur in an area close to or even far away from the intended audience are given a sense of closeness and familiarity to the intended audience.7 This implies that with the rise of new forms of media, media houses are able to distribute different forms of news to different types of audiences located in different geographical locations. As a result, those events that seem close to the intended audience are likely to enter into the public sphere as news than those which are not close.

Another factor that affects the way events and situations are translated into news is the scope that the event or situation has on the intended audience. Generally, events that happen within a local situation may be given a much wider scope if the news is intended for the wider audience.8 In the same vein, events that may have happened in places that are geographically isolated from where the intended audience is located may be given a local twist to appeal to the interests of the local audience.

By doing this, media outlets are able to address the domain of the events and situations as well as their implications. It is this approach that has been adopted by the SBS television in contextualising events and situations received from international news networks.9 Such events are repackaged and retold in such a manner that they have a psychological appeal to the local audience. Another value that is used to determine whether or not events become news is the level of deviance that they contain as a whole.

Deviance, in this case, is seen as an element of the events or a situation that makes them completely different from what happens within the locality.10 In such a case, deviance may be seen in different forms. For instance, an event may be judged as deviant if its occurrence is in contradiction to the established social rules or norms.11 Further, deviant events and situations may be judged as so based on how disruptive they are to the status quo or the level of their intensity when measured against standards that are considered the average in the society.

12 In all these cases, the events are considered as interesting to the audience because of the element of oddity that they contain. As such, such events and situations are easily transferred from the private to the public sphere as news. The last value that determines the way events are transformed into news, according to this model, is how socially significant the event or situation is. This factor is important in shaping news items because it determines whether or not events have an impact on the relationships between individuals in the society in different ways.

13 This relationship is seen in terms of four different perspectives: economic, cultural, public and political. Therefore, events and situations that are deemed socially significant are easily transformed into news than those which are not. Apart from the basic values that have been identified as key factors that determine how events are transformed into news, there are several others that have been identified over of time. For instance, McGregor identifies four new values that are equally important as criteria for determining whether or not events and situations are transformed into news.

One of them is the extent to which the event or situation is accompanied by visual elements.14 As such, stories that have been captured in images are more likely to be selected for news as compared to those that are not accompanied by images.

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