Local television newscasts around the country look alike and are filled with crime, accidents, and disasters. Interviews with more than 2,000 TV journalists around the country demonstrate that news looks this way because of the ingrained belief that 'eye-ball grabbers' are the only way to build an audience. This book contradicts the conventional wisdom using empirical evidence drawn from a five-year content analysis of local news in more than 154 stations in 50 markets around the country. The book shows that 'how' a story is reported is more important for building ratings than what the story is about. Local TV does not have to 'bleed to lead'. Instead local journalists can succeed by putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.
Contemporary Editing offers journalism students a forward-looking introduction to news editing, providing instruction on traditional newsroom conventions along with a focus on emerging news platforms. This comprehensive text provides students with a strong understanding of everything an editor does, addressing essential copy editing fundamentals such as grammar and style; editorial decision making; photo editing, information graphics, and page design; and new media approaches to storytelling. Throughout, the book focuses on how "the editor’s attitude"—a keen awareness of news values, ethics, and audience—comes into play in all facets of news editing. This new edition offers expanded coverage of web publishing and mobile media, giving students solid editing skills for today’s evolving media and news forums. Features of the Third Edition: -Editing 2.0 boxes discuss the impact of digital technology and social media on editing. -Coverage of grammar problems and a new chapter on working with numbers provide students with a strong grasp of math and grammar, which are the underpinnings for all writing and editing. -An emphasis on editing for brevity prepares students to write and edit clearly and briefly, for print and for the web. -A chapter on the art of headline writing guides students through one of the editor’s most important tasks, and introduces the task of search engine optimization. -Examples of ethics and legal situations show students how issues arise in even the most basic stories, and how to address them. -Online exercises present additional practice for students, without needing to purchase a workbook.
The second edition of Sports Journalism: An Introduction to Reporting and Writing has passed the test of time, been used in classrooms internationally, received approval and praise from professors and students, and now it, too, has moved into the new environment of sports media. New chapters on social media and topical issues in the sports world, as well as fresh examples and new references to current technology fill its pages whether you choose to read from a tablet, a Smartphone, a Chromebook or old-fashioned paper wrapped in a cardboard cover. Inside this new edition you’ll find • Three new chapters devoted to the evolution from a daily news source to a 24/7 news cycle. • Interviews with journalists whose circulation is measured in the number of Twitter followers he or she has. • A chapter encouraging discussion of ethical issues affecting today’s athletes: Should college athletes be paid to compete? Can play be too violent? Is there a level playing field for men and women? How should eligibility be determined for athletes who may be transitioning their gender identity? • A glossary that includes terms such as ‘hot takes,’ ‘scrum,’ ‘trolls.’
Ten million years in the future, several solar bodies have been terraformed and populated, and the inhabitants have evolved into different species of human. One wants to exterminate the rest. An adult lighthearted old fashioned time and space opera.
This book considers the production of political media content from the perspective of academics who are increasingly asked to join the ranks of voices charged with informing the public. The work draws on the authors’ first-hand experience and relationships with media reporters, managers, producers, and academics offering their expertise to a wide array of media outlets to understand and report on the dynamics shaping how the academic voice in political news may be at its most useful. Featured prominently in the book is the trade-off between a conventional form of political punditry, which is often characterized by partisan rancour, and a more analytical, theoretical, and/or policy-based approach to explaining politics to both general and diverse audiences. Along the way, the work draws on original survey, in-depth interview, and experimental data to garner insights on what academics in media, reporters, and media managers perceive are the appropriate roles for academics featured in political media. This book also contains relevant technical tips for effective media communication by academics.
By the end of the twentieth century, Mexican multimedia conglomerate Televisa stood as one of the most powerful media companies in the world. Most scholars have concluded that the company’s success was owed in large part to its executives who walked in lockstep with the government and the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which ruled for seventy-one years. At the same time, government decisions regulating communications infrastructure aided the development of the television industry. In one of the first books to be published in English on Mexican television, Celeste González de Bustamante argues that despite the cozy relationship between media moguls and the PRI, these connections should not be viewed as static and without friction. Through an examination of early television news programs, this book reveals the tensions that existed between what the PRI and government officials wanted to be reported and what was actually reported and how. Further, despite the increasing influence of television on society, viewers did not always accept or agree with what they saw on the air. Television news programming played an integral role in creating a sense of lo mexicano (that which is Mexican) at a time of tremendous political, social, and cultural change. At its core the book grapples with questions about the limits of cultural hegemony at the height of the PRI and the cold war.
"In this intriguing collection of stories that explores the ramifications of encounters with beings from the beyond, the appearance of a bewildering and elusive visitor to an eleven-year-old resident brings an unusual gift that turns his entire town inside out. Two young siblings - whose parents have just left them for a year with their callous aunt and uncle - soon discover they have an angry ghost to contend with as well. As a family moves into a strange house, they find the house a lot stranger than they bargained for. When a boy finds his school filled with the ghosts of fellow students and teachers, he is mystified when he sees these same people still alive in the flesh."--Back cover
How the structure of news, information, and knowledge is evolving and how news media can foster social connection. While the public believes that journalism remains crucial for democracy, there is a general sense that the news media are performing this role poorly. In The Social Fact, John Wihbey makes the case that journalism can better serve democracy by focusing on ways of fostering social connection. Wihbey explores how the structure of news, information, and knowledge and their flow through society are changing, and he considers ways in which news media can demonstrate the highest possible societal value in the context of these changes. Wihbey examines network science as well as the interplay between information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the structure of knowledge in society. He discusses the underlying patterns that characterize our increasingly networked world of information—with its viral phenomena and whiplash-inducing trends, its extremes and surprises. How can the traditional media world be reconciled with the world of social, peer-to-peer platforms, crowdsourcing, and user-generated content? Wihbey outlines a synthesis for news producers and advocates innovation in approach, form, and purpose. The Social Fact provides a valuable framework for doing audience-engaged media work of many kinds in our networked, hybrid media environment. It will be of interest to all those concerned about the future of news and public affairs.
"Written in a clear and accessible style that would suit the needs of journalists and scholars alike, this encyclopedia is highly recommended for large news organizations and all schools of journalism." —Starred Review, Library Journal Journalism permeates our lives and shapes our thoughts in ways we′ve long taken for granted. Whether we listen to National Public Radio in the morning, view the lead story on the Today show, read the morning newspaper headlines, stay up-to-the-minute with Internet news, browse grocery store tabloids, receive Time magazine in our mailbox, or watch the nightly news on television, journalism pervades our daily activities. The six-volume Encyclopedia of Journalism covers all significant dimensions of journalism, including print, broadcast, and Internet journalism; U.S. and international perspectives; history; technology; legal issues and court cases; ownership; and economics. The set contains more than 350 signed entries under the direction of leading journalism scholar Christopher H. Sterling of The George Washington University. In the A-to-Z volumes 1 through 4, both scholars and journalists contribute articles that span the field′s wide spectrum of topics, from design, editing, advertising, and marketing to libel, censorship, First Amendment rights, and bias to digital manipulation, media hoaxes, political cartoonists, and secrecy and leaks. Also covered are recently emerging media such as podcasting, blogs, and chat rooms. The last two volumes contain a thorough listing of journalism awards and prizes, a lengthy section on journalism freedom around the world, an annotated bibliography, and key documents. The latter, edited by Glenn Lewis of CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and York College/CUNY, comprises dozens of primary documents involving codes of ethics, media and the law, and future changes in store for journalism education. Key Themes Consumers and Audiences Criticism and Education Economics Ethnic and Minority Journalism Issues and Controversies Journalist Organizations Journalists Law and Policy Magazine Types Motion Pictures Networks News Agencies and Services News Categories News Media: U.S. News Media: World Newspaper Types News Program Types Online Journalism Political Communications Processes and Routines of Journalism Radio and Television Technology
A timely new edition of the classic journalism text, now featuring updated material on the importance of reporting in the age of media mistrust and fake news—and how journalists can use technology to navigate its challenges More than two decades ago, the Committee of Concerned Journalists gathered some of America’s most influential newspeople and asked them, “What is journalism for?” Through exhaustive research, surveys, interviews, and public forums, the committee identified the essential elements that define journalism and its role in our society. The result is one of the most important books on media ever written—winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize from Harvard, a Society of Professional Journalists Award, and the Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism from Penn State University. Updated with new material covering the ways journalists can leverage technology to their advantage, especially given the shifting revenue architecture of news—and with the future of news, facts, and democracy never more in question—this fourth edition of The Elements of Journalism is the authoritative guide for journalists, students, and anyone hoping to stay informed in contentious times.
