scholarly journals News Values and the Ethical Dilemmas of Covering Violent Extremism

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 278-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Journalism Ethics ◽  
Content Selection ◽  
Violent Extremism ◽  
News Value ◽  
The Media ◽  
Group Interviews

This article examines the relationship between news media and violent extremism to explore the ethical issues emanating from it. It draws on news value theory and journalism ethics literature and analyzes data from individual and group interviews with 41 journalists and newsroom observations to highlight the ethical challenges of covering the Boko Haram insurgency. Findings suggest that journalists face dilemmas in content selection, source relationship, framing stories, and dealing with victims; and that terror reporting impacts on their personal safety and professional sustainability. The elements of newsworthiness push the media toward excessive reporting of extremism but journalism ethics plays restraining roles.

Looking over the channel: The balance of media coverage about the “refugee crisis” in Germany and the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Maurer ◽  
Jörg Haßler ◽  
Simon Kruschinski ◽  
Pablo Jost
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Television News ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
British Government ◽  
News Value ◽  
The Uk

Abstract This study compares the balance of newspaper and television news coverage about migration in two countries that were differently affected by the so-called “refugee crisis” in 2015 in terms of the geopolitical involvement and numbers of migrants being admitted. Based on a broad consensus among political elites, Germany left its borders open and received about one million migrants mainly from Syria during 2015. In contrast, the conservative British government was heavily attacked by oppositional parties for closing Britain’s borders and, thus, restricting immigration. These different initial situations led to remarkable differences between the news coverage in both countries. In line with news value theory, German media outlets reported much more on migration than did their British counterparts. In line with indexing theory, German news coverage consonantly reflected the consensual view of German political elites, while British news media reported along their general editorial lines.

scholarly journals News values on social media: Exploring what drives peaks in user activity about organizations on Twitter

Journalism ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 633-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Araujo ◽  
Toni GLA van der Meer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
News Values ◽  
News Value ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Twitter Activity

Since news circulation increasingly takes place online, the public has gained the capacity to influence the salience of topics on the agenda, especially when it comes to social media. Considering increased scrutiny about organizations, this study aims to understand what causes heightened activity to organization-related topics among Twitter users. We explore the extent to which news value theory, news coverage, and influential actors can explain peaks in Twitter activity about organizations. Based on a dataset of 1.8 million tweets about 18 organizations, the findings show that the news values social impact, geographical closeness, facticity, as well as certain influential actors, can explain the intensity of online activities. Moreover, the results advocate for a more nuanced understanding of the relation between news media and social media users, as indications of reversed agenda-setting patterns were observed.

Ethical Challenges for User-Generated Content Publishing

2012 ◽  
pp. 302-315
Author(s):  
Ceren Sözeri
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Other ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Organizations

Mainstream online media is gradually encouraging user contributions to boost brand loyalty and to attract new users; however, former “passive” audience members who become users are not able to become true participants in the process of online content production. The adoption of user-generated content in media content results in new legal and ethical challenges within online media organizations. To deal with these challenges, media companies have restricted users through adhesion contracts and editorial strictures unlike anything encountered in the users’ past media consumption experiences. However, these contractual precautions are targeted to protect the media organizations’ editorial purposes or reputations rather than to engage ethical issues that can also ensure them credibility. It is expected that some public service media strive to play a vital role in deliberative culture; on the other hand, some commercial global media have noticed the importance of worthwhile user-generated content even though all of them are far from “read-write” media providers due to the lack of an established guiding ethos for publishing user-generated content.

The Sweetened Beverage Tax in Cook County, Illinois: Lessons From a Failed Effort

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 1009-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie F. Chriqui ◽  
Christina N. Sansone ◽  
Lisa M. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Discussion Group ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Cook County ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
The Media ◽  
Group Interviews

Objectives. To describe the public health and policy lessons learned from the failure of the Cook County, Illinois, Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT). Methods. This retrospective, mixed-methods, qualitative study involved key informant (KI) and discussion group interviews and document analysis including news media, court documents, testimony, letters, and press releases. Two coders used Atlas.ti v.8A to analyze 321 documents (from September 2016 through December 2017) and 6 KI and discussion group transcripts (from December 2017 through August 2018). Results. Key lessons were (1) the SBT process needed to be treated as a political campaign, (2) there was inconsistent messaging regarding the tax purpose (i.e., revenue vs public health), (3) it was important to understand the local context and constraints, (4) there was implementation confusion, and (5) the media influenced an antitax backlash. Conclusions. The experience with the implementation and repeal of the Cook County SBT provides important lessons for future beverage tax efforts. Public Health Implications. Beverage taxation efforts need to be treated as political campaigns requiring strong coalitions, clear messaging, substantial resources, and work within the local context.

Ethical Challenges for User-Generated Content Publishing

2014 ◽  
pp. 1291-1304
Author(s):  
Ceren Sözeri
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Other ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Organizations

Mainstream online media is gradually encouraging user contributions to boost brand loyalty and to attract new users; however, former “passive” audience members who become users are not able to become true participants in the process of online content production. The adoption of user-generated content in media content results in new legal and ethical challenges within online media organizations. To deal with these challenges, media companies have restricted users through adhesion contracts and editorial strictures unlike anything encountered in the users' past media consumption experiences. However, these contractual precautions are targeted to protect the media organizations' editorial purposes or reputations rather than to engage ethical issues that can also ensure them credibility. It is expected that some public service media strive to play a vital role in deliberative culture; on the other hand, some commercial global media have noticed the importance of worthwhile user-generated content even though all of them are far from “read-write” media providers due to the lack of an established guiding ethos for publishing user-generated content.

Reputation in science and prominence in the media: the Goldhagen debate

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Weingart ◽  
Petra Pansegrau
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
News Value ◽  
Scientific Reputation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Science Media ◽  
Knowledge Claims

This paper argues that in media reporting on science, media prominence competes with scientific reputation. That is, in certain cases the media compete with science, both in terms of knowledge claims and in terms of the internal mechanisms of self-direction. This implies that in cases where scientific and media evaluations diverge, the media's control over public attention opens the possibility that priority-setting and evaluation within science are no longer the exclusive orientation criteria for the public's willingness to grant financial support. Taking Luhmann's theory of functional differentiation as a starting point in conjunction with “news-value-theory,” the argument assumes that the media have different criteria than the sciences for selecting scientists and their topics as worthy of reporting (and attributing prominence), an area where the sciences have internal processes of attributing reputation on the basis of excellence in research. The case investigated is the reception of Daniel Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners in the German print media over a period of about ten months in 1996-1997. The case demonstrates how media evaluation differed markedly from the judgment by the historical community and provided Goldhagen with a tremendous public prominence.

Eventless news: Blindspots in journalism and the 'long tail' of news content

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helle Sjøvaag ◽  
Nina Kvalheim
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
News Content ◽  
News Value ◽  
The Media

The news media is frequently criticized for ignoring, missing or overseeing important, socio-politically relevant news. Such journalistic blindspots are often part of the 'long' news agenda, requiring resources, in-depth knowledge and investigation. In this article, we analyse what news topics are most infrequently covered by the media ‐ the micro-categories of content analysis. A content analysis of 70 news outlets in Norway (n=8182) reveals that the news topics receiving less than 1 per cent of coverage are social issues, international crime and the economy. This bottom-up perspective demonstrates that under-reported news constitutes predominantly 'eventless' issues, sustaining event-centredness as an agenda-setting news value. Finding that more than half of the content categories in the Norwegian corpus receive less than 1 per cent coverage, we propose, however, that the sum of these blindspots engenders a 'long tail' of journalistic coverage that together facilitates news diversity.

scholarly journals Nothing to complain about? Residents’ and relatives’ views on a “good life” and ethical challenges in nursing homes

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Bollig ◽  
Eva Gjengedal ◽  
Jan Henrik Rosland
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Nursing home residents are a vulnerable population. Most of them suffer from multi-morbidity, while many have cognitive impairment or dementia and need care around the clock. Several ethical challenges in nursing homes have been described in the scientific literature. Most studies have used staff members as informants, some have focused on the relatives’ view, but substantial knowledge about the residents’ perspective is lacking. Objective: To study what nursing home residents and their relatives perceive as ethical challenges in Norwegian nursing homes. Research design: A qualitative design with in-depth interviews with nursing home residents, and focus-group interviews with relatives of nursing home residents. The digitally recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Analysis was based on Interpretive Description. Participants and research context: A total of 25 nursing home residents from nine nursing homes in Norway, and 18 relatives of nursing home residents from three of these nursing homes. Ethical considerations: This study was reported to and approved by the Regional Ethics Committee in Oslo, Norway. Findings and discussion: The main ethical challenges in Norwegian nursing homes from the residents’ and relatives’ perspective were as follows: (a) acceptance and adaptation, (b) well-being and a good life, (c) autonomy and self-determination, and (d) lack of resources. The relationship with the staff was of outmost importance and was experienced as both rewarding and problematic. None of the residents in our study mentioned ethical challenges connected to end-of-life care. Conclusion: Residents and relatives experience ethical challenges in Norwegian nursing homes, mostly connected to “everyday ethical issues.”

scholarly journals Covid-19 and journalism conundrums: a study on dilemmas in content selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-492
Author(s):  
Chelin Indra Sushmita ◽  
Pawito Pawito ◽  
Andre Novie Rahmanto
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Personal Safety ◽  
Online Journalism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Content Selection ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Metropolitan Cities ◽  
News Value ◽  
Approach Method

The study examined journalism practices covering Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), particularly online journalism in Solo, one of the metropolitan cities in Central Java Province of Indonesia. Solo is the first city in Indonesia to declare an extraordinary event due to the Covid-19 pandemic after coronavirus-linked deaths were reported. The notion of a dilemmatic situation, mainly in content selection, is the central perspective in this research. This research referred to news value theory and agenda-setting that used a qualitative approach method. The data were obtained through interviews with 20 journalists of online media in Solo. We also included non-participatory observation in the Solopos.com newsroom. The study suggests that, to some extent, journalists face a dilemma in choosing content to present news that concerns the public interest during the Covid-19 pandemic. The dilemma included determining interesting issues, attracting the public interest, and becoming meaningful to the readers, but not to endanger the personal safety and maintain professional sustainability because there is no news worthy of a life.    

scholarly journals INDEPENDENCE AND INTERDEPENDENCE: MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF FINNISH YOUTH’S EXPERIENCES OF TRUST IN NEWS ONLINE AND VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minna Horowitz ◽  
Janne Matikainen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
News Media ◽  
Central Component ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
The Media ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The University ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study

Young people’s relationship with the news has been a cause of concern, especially due to the role of social media as a central component of their lives, often seen as a prominent cause of declining trust in the news. This proposal features some of the results of a multi-method, interdisciplinary study of the University of Helsinki (2019-2021) that examines how Finnish audiences view the power of traditional news media and social media. The project understands trust as a four-dimensional concept: generalized trust in the media, trust in specific sources, trust in terms of specific issues, and trust determined by one’s individual disposition. Based on the results of two general surveys in Spring 2019 and Spring 2020, a survey focused on young people (18-29-year-olds), three focus group interviews, as well as a three-day online discussion of 30 participants of the same age group in Fall 2020, we analyze how young people and experience the trust in news sources online. We also discuss how the pandemic has shaped their experiences. While the most defining characteristic of Finnish audiences is a combination of both basic trust and critical approaches toward news, this is markedly true for young people. At the same time, our findings do not confirm the worst fears of moral panic about growing distrust and news avoidance by young people. Rather, they suggest a combination of independence and interdependence by young people, of both legacy news media and online and social media sources.

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