Political or economic determinants of news production (original) (raw)
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Newspapers have been a primary medium for journalism since the eighteenth century. Since then, new creative tendencies and technologies have changed news production and its evolution. Radio and television, that once were called New Media, seemingly could have jeopardized the existence of the newspaper, however, history proved that instead of disappearing it had to reinvent itself and consequently bring new contents in order to adapt to new times. Even the fact that many newspapers around the world are going out of business, does not mean necessarily that newspapers will disappear, on the contrary, traditional media is slowly shifting its model because they no longer have the strength to concentrate information as before and consequently, new media is developing through other business logics. As mentioned, the arrival of free news on the Internet has played a part in falling revenues for print media. As newspapers and new communication technologies, are trying to still be profitable, major changes regarding content are going to take place in order to still compete in a rampant world of immediate information. From public affairs news to a more entertainment driven news, there must be a huge shift in the near future in terms on news production in pursuance of its own niche market. The aim of this essay is to bring up the idea of a two-way relationship between digital and print news in which both are trying to coexist. The first part approaches the way online news have gained territory in comparison with its counterpart the printed newspaper which is, presumably in crisis. The second part will address on how the content in newspapers has to be revised in order to adapt to new ways of news consumption. In the last part I will focus on how market plays an important role on news production and how media follows its rules in order to maintain audiences and still be profitable.
The Economics of Journalism and News Provision
Mouton de Gruyter Handbook of Communication Science, Timothy Vos, ed., 2018
This chapter reveals how economic perspectives provide insights into journalism as a product, practice, and institution and how it is a factor in the changing environment of journalism. It reveals why the economics of journalism and news production are central to comprehending contemporary business and financial issues facing news organizations, developments of new forms of news provision, and what is happening to journalism in the twenty-first century. The chapter discusses how the characteristics of journalism and coverage choices affect economic value and consumer choice. It reveals how technologies and requirements for production and distribution are affected by economics and how these affect sustainability of journalism on different platforms. It explores how the business arrangements surrounding journalism are influenced by economic factors and how the development of new distribution methods alters competition and competitive positions of newspapers, news magazines, and television news. It shows how new economic factors in digital news operation make it challenging to construct economically feasible business arrangements. The chapter shows how insights from the economic perspective provide unique understanding of journalism, news enterprises, and the environment in which it takes place.
Journalistic and Commercial News Values
Nordicom Review, 2002
Why do some events fill the columns and air time of news media, while others are ignored? Why do some stories make banner headlines whereas others merit no more than a few lines? What factors decide what news professionals consider newsworthy? Such questions are often answered-by journalists and media researchers alike-with references to journalistic news values or 'news criteria'. Some answers are normatively founded; others are pragmatic and descriptive. In the present article, I submit that editorial priorities should not be analyzed in purely journalistic terms. Instead, they should be seen as efforts to combine journalistic norms and editorial ambitions, on the one hand, with commercial norms and market objectives, on the other. Commercial Enterprise and Patron of an Institution News media have a dual nature. On the one hand they represent a societal institution that is ascribed a vital role in relation to such core political values as freedom of expression and democracy. On the other hand, they are businesses that produce commodities-information and entertainment-for a market. At the same time, because their products are descriptions of reality that influence our perceptions of the world around us, news media wield influence that extends far beyond the marketplace. Who controls the media is of significance to every member of society. As figures like Rupert Murdoch, Silvio Berlusconi and the new Russian media barons remind us, control of the media is a key to political power. And while many venerable industries wither and die (or undergo profound metamorphoses) the consciousness industry-as writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1974) dubbed the media and other actors in the communication sector-is rapidly expanding. Newspapers, radio programs and television transmissions differ with respect to how consumption of them affects our perception and understanding of reality. As Graham Murdoch observes: By providing accounts of the contemporary world and images of the 'good life', they play a pivotal role in shaping social consciousness, and it is this 'special relationship' between economic and cultural power that has made the issue of
Newspapers: Adapting and Experimenting
Intellect eBooks, 2011
Print media markets in Europe are confronted with challenging changes that threaten to destabilize the relationship between newspapers, the advertisers and their publics. Those changes are occurring fast, thus granting the management of print media actors only a limited time to adopt new strategies to reach the vanishing public and to find innovative solutions to attract advertisers. The factors of change are related to societal developments, to shifts in audience and advertising preferences, but also to the appearance of new media competitors; these factors apply more specifically to the newspaper market where free sheets and online media are turning the traditional business model upside down. This may call for experiments, e.g. synergies with online media, mobile platforms and e-readers. It also poses new challenges to decision makersnot only at the national level, but also in the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)who are habitually more willing to regulate broadcasting than matters concerning the print media. Digital technology enables media firms to become part of the convergence process that transforms individual media companies into integrated media corporations that offer new possibilities, but also new threats for media content and distribution (Picard 2004). The adoption of technological innovation has implications not only on news gathering and news processing but also on media concentration and the development of political systems (Hallin and Mancini 2004). European newspaper publishers are struggling to find a new market position facing Google and other non-journalistic media appropriating their traditional income from classified ads, and readers preferring free media to print-based media on subscription. Newspapers do not only face the Internet as a technological challenge. More fundamentally, the very business model of subscription and single copy sale supplemented by classified advertising is in jeopardy. New payment models such as micro payments have failed so far, and cut backs in staff offers only temporarily provide relief from the major challenge: how to sell less of more (Anderson 2006) and still make enough money to offer high quality journalism. In this chapter we will discuss characteristics and current development trends in the print industry, identify strategic responses by the print media industry and spot patterns of print media policy in Europe. We illustrate these processes by taking a closer look to the print media in selected areas: Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), the German speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland and Austria) and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). We also include information from eastern European print markets. Table 1: Number and Circulation of Paid for Daily Newspapers.
NEWSPAPER OWNERSHIP AND CONTENT
FUOYE Journal of Communication, 2020
Ownership has remained a critical factor in understanding content creation in the newspaper. How ownership pressures content in the newspaper has been a key issue in political economy of media. Several studies have confirmed that media ownership pressures content, although its extent has remained contentious. Anchored on Altschull (1984) and Shoemaker and Reese (1991) theory of media ownership, the study adopted qualitative interviews with 20 purposely select newspaper editors and senior journalists in two high circulating mainstream newspapers in Nigeria, Daily Trust and The Punch, to investigate whether ownership factor plays a role in news slanting, the pattern of influence and its implications. The findings showed that ownership influence on news content did exist in the two newspapers; that ownership influence exists not only in government-owned but also in privately-owned newspapers. It was found that forms of ownership influence include direct intervention and self-censorship by journalists and editors while owners’ interest, regional or religious, also influence news content. It concluded that where news was found to be pressured by the newspaper owners’ profit motive or ideological goals, objective journalism would suffer and that the socio-political and economic configuration in Nigeria also hinders professionalism among journalists. It therefore, recommended that for newspapers to be able to play their effective role in nation building, newspaper owners need to subordinate their interests to that of objective journalism.
Political-economic factors shaping news culture
2009
Histories of the printed press and occupational myths tend to emphasise that journalists in most European countries have long been concerned about interferences from political authorities in the editorial sphere. But over time, other sources of potential influence, including advertising, commercial pressures, competition and other economic pressures became matters of concern. As news evolved to become a big business, news desks have had to cope with different forms of political and economic influences, ranging from soft pressures to strict censorship. On the whole, journalistic practices have been strongly marked by national historical situations and values linked to the particular context in which media were built and to the balance of power with political authorities. European democracies and Eastern regimes produced many national journalistic traditions and models, reflecting differing forms and degrees of media independence and editorial freedom.
International Journal of Communication, 2017
Content analyses of large and internationally influential American newspapers show that today only 35% of the front-page articles are traditional, event-centered news articles, down from 69% 25 years ago. Of the event-centered news, only 47% mentioned the main development in the first paragraph. This study argues that newspapers have transformed in functions and style such that they no longer deliver first-instance news reporting, but serve as an analytical and/or in-depth complement to the more immediate, instantaneous online news outlets. Broader implications of the findings including theoretical connections to comparative media systems, medium theory, and professional role conceptions of journalists are discussed.