News

by Harrison,Jackie

• ISBN13: 9780415319492
• ISBN10: 0415319498
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Is news primarily for information or entertainment? Can reporting ever be "objective?" What are the conflicting interests at work behind choosing what gets covered in the news, and how? Addressing these issues with examples across a range of media including print, radio, television and the internet, Jackie Harrison explains the different theoretical approaches that have been used to study news, as well as providing an accessible introduction to how news is produced and regulated, what counts as news, and how it is selected and presented. Written in a clear and lively style, News is the ideal introductory book for students of media, communication, and journalism. Topics covered include: * Introduction to the concept of news * the growth and development of news * technology, concentration and competition * balancing freedom and responsibility * regulatory control of the news * making the news.

Author Biography

Jackie Harrison is Professor of Public Communication in the Department of Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

Series editor's preface	x
Acknowledgements	xii
1 Introduction	1	(16)
The concept of news: assumptions and analysis	1	(13)
Structure of the book	14	(3)
2 Views about news: common sense, practitioner and academic	17	(24)
Introduction	17	(1)
Common-sense views about news	18	(2)
Practitioners' views about news	20	(3)
Academic views about news	23	(15)
Conclusion	38	(3)
3 From ballads to broadcasting: the historical growth and development of news	41	(28)
Introduction	41	(1)
Printing news	41	(4)
Printing, reporting the news and the constraints of space and time	45	(8)
The expansion of newspapers	53	(2)
News, entertainment and the commercialization of the press	55	(2)
The development of professional practices in print news reporting	57	(4)
The development of broadcast news	61	(7)
Conclusion	68	(1)
4 The modern news ecology: technology, regulation, concentration and competition	69	(30)
Introduction	69	(3)
The news and recent technological change	72	(9)
News and the current regulatory environment	81	(4)
News and the concentration of ownership	85	(6)
Competition and the internationalization of news	91	(5)
Conclusion	96	(3)
5 News and society	99	(28)
Introduction	99	(3)
Freedom of expression	102	(2)
News and the exercise of responsibility	104	(4)
News and the public sphere	108	(7)
UK regulation of the news	115	(6)
UK statutory requirements for impartiality in broadcast news reporting	121	(4)
Conclusion	125	(2)
6 News practice	127	(28)
Introduction	127	(2)
Reporting news: a balance of forces	129	(23)
Conclusion	152	(3)
7 News: character and audience	155	(30)
Introduction	155	(1)
Changing patterns of news consumption	156	(8)
The news organization and its audiences	164	(7)
Concerns about news standards	171	(11)
Conclusion	182	(3)
8 Possibilities and problems: trends in the future of news	185	(24)
Introduction	185	(5)
Future trends in news	190	(19)
Appendix 1 Key events relating to the Hutton Inquiry and Report	209	(8)
Appendix 2 A map of the multi-channel TV landscape	217	(2)
Appendix 3 Concentration of the ITV sector	219	(2)
Appendix 4 Concentration of the national press	221	(2)
Appendix 5 Timeline of the Communications Act 2003	223	(2)
Appendix 6 TV news programmes	225	(2)
Notes	227	(26)
Bibliography	253	(24)
Index	277