Educational Policy Change, Newspapers and Public Opinion in New Zealand, 1988-1999

<p>This thesis analyses educational trends as reported in five major New Zealand daily newspapers from 1988-1999 when the New Zealand education system underwent radical policy reforms. Newspaper reporting of the educational reforms was set alongside and compared with a range of academic and professional critiques. The role of newspaper reporting differed from the academic literature in two inter-related ways. First, newspapers had to appeal to a ‘reader audience’ so as to achieve their second function, commercial viability. Commercial viability was achieved by a process of ‘gatekeeping’ whereby articles were selected for their publishing suitability. Gatekeeping took into account the reader audience, time constraints and the employer’s political orientation. The key argument of this thesis was, that because of those restraints, reporting on complex educational issues, which required time to investigate, analyse, reflect and theorise, were too difficult and therefore, were largely ignored. A mixed research methodology was used to identify the similarities and differences between academic and professional concerns with those educational articles found in newspapers. Five newspapers were surveyed over 12 years (1988-1999) on the basis of every 11 days, but omitting Sunday. This resulted in 1680 newspapers being identified. Educational articles were coded according to their story content and substory content and scored according to their prominence using the ‘Budd Score’ method. The key findings were that articles about education, in the new global media market with its focus on the commodification of information, were superficial, narrow, unquestioning and given low priority. Such ‘dumbing down’ was seen to have effectively muzzled the ‘watchdog’ role that the media claimed to have upheld. As a result a ‘cultural bricolage’ had led to an unequal power distribution that, based on the evidence of the literature review and the Budd score analysis in this thesis, was arguably anti-social, anti-Maori, anti-feminist, anti-competitive and therefore, anti-democratic.</p>

Educational Policy Change, Newspapers and Public Opinion in New Zealand, 1988-1999

<p>This thesis analyses educational trends as reported in five major New Zealand daily newspapers from 1988-1999 when the New Zealand education system underwent radical policy reforms. Newspaper reporting of the educational reforms was set alongside and compared with a range of academic and professional critiques. The role of newspaper reporting differed from the academic literature in two inter-related ways. First, newspapers had to appeal to a ‘reader audience’ so as to achieve their second function, commercial viability. Commercial viability was achieved by a process of ‘gatekeeping’ whereby articles were selected for their publishing suitability. Gatekeeping took into account the reader audience, time constraints and the employer’s political orientation. The key argument of this thesis was, that because of those restraints, reporting on complex educational issues, which required time to investigate, analyse, reflect and theorise, were too difficult and therefore, were largely ignored. A mixed research methodology was used to identify the similarities and differences between academic and professional concerns with those educational articles found in newspapers. Five newspapers were surveyed over 12 years (1988-1999) on the basis of every 11 days, but omitting Sunday. This resulted in 1680 newspapers being identified. Educational articles were coded according to their story content and substory content and scored according to their prominence using the ‘Budd Score’ method. The key findings were that articles about education, in the new global media market with its focus on the commodification of information, were superficial, narrow, unquestioning and given low priority. Such ‘dumbing down’ was seen to have effectively muzzled the ‘watchdog’ role that the media claimed to have upheld. As a result a ‘cultural bricolage’ had led to an unequal power distribution that, based on the evidence of the literature review and the Budd score analysis in this thesis, was arguably anti-social, anti-Maori, anti-feminist, anti-competitive and therefore, anti-democratic.</p>

How Did the Media Report the Mining Industry’s Initial Response to COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat? A Newspaper Review

Mining in Inuit Nunangat relies on a southern Canada fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) and local workforce. The FIFO workforce, combined with existing social determinants of health, can create health risks to Inuit Nunangat. These risks were increased with COVID-19. As newspaper reporting can shape public opinion and policy actions regarding these COVID-19 risks, we systematically searched databases to identify newspaper articles during the initial phase of COVID-19 (i.e., articles published from 1 January to 30 June 2020). Descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis were used to analyze the nature, range, and extent of included articles. Most included articles were published by Inuit Nunangat-based newspapers. Half the sources quoted were mining companies and most reported reactions to their initial response were negative. The most frequent topic was concern that an infected FIFO employee could transmit COVID-19 to a worksite and subsequently infect Inuit employees and communities. Inuit Nunangat-based newspapers were crucial in shaping the narrative of the initial response. National newspapers mainly focused on the takeover of TMAC™ during the pandemic, while Inuit Nunangat-based newspapers provided timely and locally-relevant pandemic information. Without Inuit Nunangat-based newspapers, the reporting would be from national and southern newspapers, which was less in-depth, less frequent, and less relevant to Inuit.

Interscholastic inclusion: Local and National News Framing of High School Transgender Athletes

Debates of who is and is not permitted to participate in sport have been magnified in regard to those whose gender identity deviates from traditional heteronormative standards. Former high school transgender athletes Mack Beggs and Andraya Yearwood, in states with different stances toward trans participation, were thrust into media spotlights. A content analysis examined local and national newspaper reporting about the individuals and their states’ policies. Newspapers did not uphold perceived hegemonic ideals associated with sport by negatively depicting each marginalized athlete. Journalists applauded both for driving conversations toward equal opportunity in high school athletics.

China’s Soft Power in Pakistan: The Representation of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor in Local Newspapers

This article conducts a case study of China’s influence on Pakistan by collecting and analysing news coverage from two prominent English and Urdu newspapers in Pakistan for a five-year period between 2013 and 2018. It compares the changes in newspaper reporting before and after the launch of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2015. Analysis has shown a significant increase in positive reporting on the CPEC and China. The case of Pakistan is representative of its recognition of China’s soft power in a developing country, thus offering a new perspective on China’s goodwill vis-à-vis the Belt and Road Initiative.

Phase of the trial (Justice and Crime Coverage)

The variable “phase of a trial” records whether the phase before, during or after the trial is mainly covered in the reporting (vgl. Haney & Greene, 2004; Glark, 2015; Strother, 2017). Studies show that the media’s focus is mainly on the beginning (when the new information about the case has been introduced) and on the end of the trial and the possible emotional reactions to it, while the main trial is usually not or little covered (Vinson & Ertter, 2002; Haney & Greene, 2004). Field of application/theoretical foundation: The variable serves - among other variables – as an indicator of the representativeness of judicial reporting. Example study: Haney & Greene (2004) Information on Haney & Greene (2004) Authors: Craig Haney, Susan Greene Research interest: The study evaluates aspects of newspaper reporting about death penalty cases and capital defendants. Object of analysis: “representative sample of local, mainstream (i.e., non-“tabloid”) newspaper coverage” (134) Time frame of analysis: not mentioned Codebook: not available Info about variable Variable name/definition: phase of the trial [Phase des Gerichtsprozesses] Level of analysis: article Operationalization/coding instructions: “Generally, the stage of the trial process at which the article was written was stated explicitly. Otherwise, it was inferred from the content of the article or by comparing the date of the article to others written about the same case.” (p.136) Values: pretrial guilt-phase penalty sentencing-phase post trial Intercoder reliability: Cronbach’s alpha of .73 across categories (5 Coder), not mentioned for individual category Reference Clark, T. S., Lax, J. R., & Rice, D. (2015). Measuring the political salience of Supreme Court cases. Journal of Law and Courts, 3(1), 37–65. Haney, C. & Greene, S. (2004). Capital constructions: Newspaper reporting in death penalty cases. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 4(1), 129–150. Strother, L. (2017). How expected political and legal impact drive media coverage of Supreme Court cases, Political Communication, 34(4), S. 571-589. Vinson, C. D., & Ertter, J. S. (2002). Entertainment or Education: How Do Media Cover the Courts? Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 7(4), S. 80–97.

Sources & actors (Justice and Crime Coverage)

These variables are used to determine whose views and activities are covered in the reporting on justice. A distinction is made between the variable "actors", which is used to measure the description of acting persons, and the variable "source", that captures which persons have a direct or indirect quote. Field of application/theoretical foundation: The variable serves - among other variables – as an indicator of the representativeness of judicial reporting. Example studies: Haney & Greene (2004); Oehmer (work in progress) Information on Haney & Greene (2004) Authors: Craig Haney, Susan Greene Research interest: The study evaluates aspects of newspaper reporting about death penalty cases and capital defendants. Object of analysis: “representative sample of local, mainstream (i.e., non-“tabloid”) newspaper coverage” (134) Codebook: not available Information on Oehmer (work in progress) Research interest: The research interest of the study focuses on three sets of questions concerning 1) the selection and representativeness of court reporting, 2) the information function of court reporting and 3) the presentation of court reporting. Object of analysis: court coverage in Swiss newspapers (Tagesanzeiger, NZZ, Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Südostschweiz, Blick, Gratiszeitung, 20Minuten) Time frame of analysis: January 2007 – December 2017 Codebook: available (see attachment) Info about variables Author(s) Level of analysis Operationalization/coding instructions Values Intercoder reliability Haney & Greene (2004) article Sources “We coded source attributions for information contained in the articles. Specifically, we examined whether the prosecution, defense, judges, or law enforcement (e.g., police), or the suspect/defendant or laypersons purporting to be knowledgeable about him or his crime(s) were specifically quoted or cited. For example: After allegedly stealing Schockley’s 1990 Buick station wagon and items from Schockley’s Lodi home, Hensley went to the Oasis bar on the outskirts of Stockton and picked up a 32-year-old prostitute, police said. (“Killing Suspect Caught,” 1992)“ (136) - Police/law enforcement - Prosecutors - Judges - Defense attorneys - Defendants - Lay witnesses - Prosecution Defense Cronbach’s alpha of .73 across categories (5 Coder), not mentioned for individual category Oehmer (work in progress) Actors in most covered court case in article Actors of the trial Only actors of the (dominant) trial described in the article are coded - i.e. actors involved in other processes are not considered here. Only those actors are coded who are described as actively acting. Simple statements such as "the verdict of the court" or "in the motion of the lawyers can be read that" does not qualify as actors. Decisive for the assignment to an actor is the role in the respective process: If, for example, a police officer is accused of abuse of authority, he is coded as the accused, not as an actor of the police. - Opfer - Angehörige der Opfer - Angeklagte(r) - Angehörige des/r Angeklagten - Akteure der Staatsanwaltschaft - Anwälte/ Verteidiger - Richter/ Spruchkörper - Gericht allgemein - Akteure der Polizei - Zeugen - Gutachter - Sonstiges Holsti .84; Krippendorff’s Alpha: .83 (2 Coder) References Haney, C. & Greene, S. (2004). Capital constructions: Newspaper reporting in death penalty cases. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 4(1), 129–150. Oehmer, Franziska. Die dritte Gewalt in den Medien. Eine repräsentative quantitative Inhaltsanalyse der Gerichtsberichterstattung Schweizer Medien (work in progress). [Justice in the media. A representative quantitative content analysis of court reporting in the Swiss media].