This document discusses the challenges modern journalism faces in maintaining comprehensiveness and proportionality given limited resources. It uses the metaphor of historic cartography to illustrate how non-comprehensive or disproportionate "maps" can mislead. It argues journalism should serve as a "map" to help citizens navigate society, but that requires covering all communities, not just those that generate advertising revenue. However, journalism institutions struggle to cover everything due to cutbacks and pressures to attract audiences through sensationalism rather than comprehensive reporting. It concludes journalists must design coverage that responds to all people by learning what interests their whole community.

1. CHAPTER 9
make the news comprehensive
and proportional

2. make the news comprehensive
and proportional
HOW CAN MODERN NEWSROOMS MAINTAIN
COMPREHENSIVENESS AND PROPORTION WITH SUCH
LITTLE (AND SHRINKING) RESOURCES
question to think about

3. THE CARTOGRAPHY METAPHOR
cartography was historically inaccurate
• sea monsters, mythical creatures
accounted for what was
unknown
• the size of land was determined
according to which audience the
cartographer catered to

4. cartography was historically inaccurate
NON-COMPREHENSIVE AND UNPROPORTIONAL MAPS
MADE POOR GUIDES FOR EXPLORATION AND BODED
EVEN WORSE FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF NEW LANDS
innacurate cartography created problems

5. JOURNALISM IS THE MODERN
CARTOGRAPHY
journalism serves as “map for citizens to navigate society”
• sensationalism is the
modern version of
cartographers’ sea monsters
• makes short-term
economic sense but
misleads the traveler

6. journalism serves as “map for citizens to navigate society”
IF JOURNALISM IS SOCIAL CARTOGRAPHY THAT REQUIRES
COMPLETENESS AND PROPORTION, WE NEED COVERAGE
OF ALL COMMUNITIES; NOT JUST THOSE WITH
ADVERTISING APPEAL
the fallacy of targeted demographics

7. DIFFICULTIES IN AVOIDING
TARGETED DEMOGRAPHICS
journalism as a professional institution is struggling
• severe lack of employees and resources due to
cutbacks
• hard to produce enough material to begin with (nearly
impossible to cover all communities)
• public becomes more diverse each day with immigration
and social change

8. journalism as a professional institution is struggling
HISTORICALLY, JOURNALISM HAS CATERED TO A CERTAIN
DEMOGRAPHIC (MIDDLE, UPPER-CLASS WHITE) IN ORDER
TO BRING IN REVENUE FROM ADVERTISING
SKEWS FOCUS OF NEWS TO ONE ‘COMMUNITY’
PREVENTS OTHER COMMUNITIES FROM GAINING ACCESS
POORLY INFORMS AUDIENCES OF LARGER, COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE
UNIFORMED PUBLIC LEADS TO POOR DECISION MAKING
do you think that targeted demographics has played a major
role in the decline of journalism for modern generations?

9. LIMITS OF MAP METAPHOR
journalism is not an exact science like cartography
• comprehensive coverage as
well as proportion are both
subjective
• journalists must therefore
seek proportion and
comprehension... how?

10. journalism is not an exact science like cartography
CITIZENS MUST FEEL THAT JOURNALISTS ARE ACTING IN
THEIR BEST INTEREST
JOURNALISTS SHOULDN’T COVER STUFF JUST TO SELL
CITIZENS DON’T EXPECT PERFECTION--JUST GOOD
INTENTIONS
I disagree: with so many other ways to get news, people have
this expectation of perfection from professional news org.s

11. PRESSURE TO HYPE STORIES
the naked body and the guitar principle of attracting audiences
• naked body in public will attract attention quickly but
will not necessarily keep their interest
• guitar player in public will begin to attract interest and
will be more apt to maintain loyalties from an audience
that will continue to watch over a period of time

12. the naked body and the guitar principle of attracting audiences
JOURNALISTS BATTLE WITH THIS PRINCIPLE
NEED TO GENERATE AN AUDIENCE FAST IN ORDER TO
STAY IN BUSINESS BUT WHICH ROUTE SHOULD NEWS
ORG.S PURSUE: THE NAKED BODY OR THE GUITAR?
many org.s have chosen the naked body and shifted away from
‘hard news’ in favor of larger audiences drawn to celebrity or
lifestyle news.

13. HOW DID HYPE EVOLVE
reporters began telling people how to feel about the news
• used emotional code words
like: ‘stunning’, ‘horrific’, etc
• has emotional reporting
unattached the news from
its commitment to unbiased
and dispassionate reporting
of facts?

14. reporters began telling people how to feel about the news
ARE EMOTIONALISM AND OUTRAGE WHILE REPORTING
THE NEWS EVER APPROPRIATE?
book argues that it’s okay only when “any other reaction would
seem forced”

15. KEEPING NEWS IN PROPORTION
news must resist sensationalism to maintain proportion
• to do this, reporters need a better understanding of
changing tastes, trends of audience... unlike Rick Sanchez.

16. news must resist sensationalism to maintain proportion
DESIGN COVERAGE THAT RESPONDS TO ALL PEOPLE BY
REPORTING ON AND FIGURING OUT WHAT THE
COMMUNITY IS UP TO
THE WAY A STORY IS TOLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE
TOPIC ITSELF
ultimately change the approach to ‘uninteresting’ topics: number
balance, credibility of sources used