journalism minor media studies journalism university of groningen
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Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RuG)
Journalistiek
Introduction to Journalism Studies (LJX059B05)
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Summary: Introduction to Journalism Studies – Lectures
By Chantal Buursema
Week 1: Introduction
The three concepts of Journalism Studies:
1. Production > journalists
2. Audiences
3. Content
The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-
governing. (Kovach, Bill and Tom Rosentiel 2001). Journalists provide the public with this window!
Lippman: Our opinions are formed through our surrounding world. We digest information what we
see. We take it in and digest it. Everything we see, are actually pictures in our head.
Those features of the world outside define our public opinions. Whatever we see as pictures, we
retrieve the world to be like that. Those pictures which are acted upon by groups of people, or by
individuals acting in the name of groups, are Public Opinion.
“The way in which the world is imagined determines at any particular moment what men will do.”
Point of departure for Intr. to Journ. Studies is that journalism is part of democracy/democratic
societies.
Kovach and Rosentstiel: The elements of journalism
What is journalism?
1. Supplier of information.
2. Resource for, support to and often participant in public life and political debate.
3. Medium of education.
A central role in weighing ‘what do we need to know and how should we talk about certain topics?’
Seeing journalism as part of culture. Approaching journalism from a variety of angles (history,
sociology, political sciences, cultural studies & linguistics). > interdisciplinary
,To understand journalism, it’s good to look at the history. (Reading Wahl-Jorgenson)
19th and early 20th century: prehistory of journalism studies – normative research
o Scholars started thinking about news and its impact on society. “Journalism
must/should..”
1950s: empirical turn
o Increase look at social-scientific approaches. Not just what journalism should do, but
also look at its effect (on viewers).
1970s/1980s: sociological turn
o Sociology entered how we think about journalism. “What ideologies are prevalent in
journalism?”
1990s: international -comparative turn
o Going global. Comparing media systems across countries. “What happens in the US?”
/ war reporting etc.
Now: multiplicity through fragmentation and diversification.
o What used to be the role of journalist (information providers) is now also being taken
over by citizens, organizations etc.
Questions:
- What does Lippman mean with Public Opinion?
- Why is journalism interdisciplinary?
- What is most important about the prehistory of journalism/empirical turn/sociological
turn/international-comparative turn?
Week 2: news values
News production and process
Landing pages of news sites all around the world differ a lot. Which news is important enough to
report? How do journalists decide on what to put on the first page?
What is news?
- Pictures in our head. It shapes the world > shapes the pictures in your head.
- There are so many happenings on a daily basis. How do reporters choose what to cover?
Editors choose what counts as newsworthy.
- There has to be a theme/meaning/story. Drama/conflict/contrast is important. It also has to
be easy to understand for audiences.
News Values = A set of criteria employed by journalists to measure and therefore to judge the
‘newsworthiness of events’.
Ground rules for deciding, what an identified audience is interested in.
Criteria how journalists summarize news values:
1. Timeliness: News has to be new/happening right now. Audience wants to be caught up.
Events with immediate impacts.
2. Proximity: Geographic closeness: the closer you are to a country, the greater the impact of
the news. Feeling of ‘proximity’ can also be caused by other factors. Feelings of closeness.
(example. America or ex-colonial countries). Liveness (that something can be seen live) can
add to this effect.
, 3. Conflict: News is about friction/issues/problems. Brings different perspectives together. It
also helps to visualize > war
4. Eminence and Prominence: Famous people and well-known issues take prominence. Its also
easier to understand for audiences because no background is needed! It generates
immediate interest.
5. Consequence and Impact: an event by itself might be meaningless, but the human impact
counts! (death toll, economical consequences etc.) Which impact does a happening have?
6. Human interest: The story behind a story! Personal interest has a big influence. Emotional
rhetoric and connection > entertainment value.
When journalist start in a news room, they have to develop their news
sense. They have to learn the following principles:
As journalism scholars, we ask ourself: how is news determined and what is included? How do
journalist acquire these skills listed above? How are they trained and how do they grow in their job?
Professional socialization
How do journalists learn to make sense of ‘happenings’ and to convert these into ‘news’?
- Reporters identify stories through the process of socialization.
o In newsrooms
o In education
o From cultural experience
Professional socialization = occurs in many different roles within society (ex. lecturer is socialized to
behave like a teacher, I am acquired to behave like a student). You have to grow into this role (starts
with babies). Individual learns to interact and internalize the rules and norms.
- Organizational level: explains how you learn to anticipate and embody what is expected from
you. You learn the news values and get a notion on what to report on. You sharpen senses of
newsworthiness. – starts at internships
Newsworthiness & Worthwhileness
Type of organization that you work for also defines newsworthiness.
Also big dependence on the intended audience.
- Distinction between these things creates tension over what/how to cover.
Ansgard: how journalists ultimately pick news is dependent on how they are being professionally
socialized.
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