The nature and sources of news

Notes after Robert M. Entman’s essay The nature and

sources of news,
The core democratizing functions of journalism

 The democratrising functions of the media help citizens keep the government
accountable. These functions focus on four areas of interest that are vital for a
democratic citizenship:
1. Policy – public policy issues
2. Power – who is holding the power and how is power used
3. Ideology – the ideologies that influence decisions
4. Self-interest – the individuals’ own interests and stakes in politics.
Classification of the media
1. traditional journalism – newspapers and magazines that most thoroughly adhere
to the standards of journalism and perform the key functions most thoroughly,
consistently and responsively.
They put the four core functions (policy, power, ideology and self-interest) at the
basis of their commitment
2. advocacy journalism – newspapers and magazines that try to advance certain
political issues and influence agenda setting, enhancing citizenship in general
3. tabloid journalism – news shaped more by commercial considerations and by the
audiences’ tastes for sensation and emotion than by commitments to democratic
purposes
4. Entertainment – news not produced by journalists nor consumed as news, held as
rather fictional, artificial or disconnected from reality (the so-called Reality TV ,
which throws real people into situations created for the propgram)
 Hard news- consistent issues that impact on peoples’ lives
 Soft news – a heterogeneous category that includes human interest, scandal,
entertainment, stories, etc.
Criteria that distinguish the types of media

 Degree of commitment to key journalistic standards

 Core organizational values and missions
 Target audiences and market constraints
 Prototypical message content
Degree of commitment to key journalistic standards

1. Accuracy – factual basis for all claims, reliance on legitimate sources and
documents
2. Balance - equal treatment to sides in disputes and refraining from expressing
personal views
3. Checks on pure profit maximization – news judgment based on professional
consideration and not on profit calculations
4. Democratic accountability – holding government accountable; priority accorded
to significant policy issues
5. Editorial separation – separation of news staff from editorial staff; story selection
and coverage depends on news judgment and traditions
Core organizational Values and Missions

Traditional newspapers and broadcast programs hold to the following missions:

 Reporting on important events, people and issues involving key institutions
and officials
 Making sufficient profit to survive on the market
 Influencing public policy
 Amusing and diverting
Prototypical message content
‘News properties that can help in assessing the civic value and effects of media content
across the media products’ (Entman, ):
- focus on the substantive goals and activities of those holding power in
government and those who influence policy
- insights into the distribution of power, wealth and status in society
- the impact of public policies and proposed policies on the lives and opportunities
of citizens
- the hidden truth about policy, political issues, interest groups, canhdidates for
key offices, etc.
Differences between traditional and advocacy
journalism, and tabloid and entertainment journalism

 The credibility of news taken as factual and accurate

 The timeliness of reports
 Stories about key officials
 Reliance on well-documented reports and analyses rather than on anecdotes and
hunches
Target audiences and market constraints
Traditional journals are bound to their committed audiences and cannot
overlook their requests – they cannot simply overlook the market
demand and constraints and start producing something new, like
entertainment
‘although traditional newspapers move towards a more tabloidized form
of journalism and local TV can turn to a more traditional form of
news, the market niches each occupies limits their range of choices
and the nature of the products they offer’ ( ).