The chapter discusses how competition in the news industry has impacted American society in unexpected ways. It introduces the concept of "news avoiders" who get information from social media rather than news sources. It also covers news values like human interest, conflict and timeliness that influence which stories are covered. The chapter examines techniques like framing that journalists use to make stories more appealing and how this can influence audience beliefs. It analyzes different forms and sources of news today from legacy media to born digital publications to citizen journalism.

1. Chapter 4

2. How Do People Get the News?
Fierce competition in the news industry has had
unexpected consequences for American society

3. What statements
or claims
can you make
based on this data?

4. News Avoiders
“I think it’s really easy
to not read news. I’m
on social media all day
and I never see any
news.”
What are the pros
and cons of avoiding
the news?

5. HUMAN
INTEREST
CONFLICT
PROXIMITY
RELEVANCE
TIMELINESS
News Values

6. Framing: a term used to
describe how journalists
select some aspects of
perceived reality to
make it more appealing
to a target audience,
connecting new
information to existing
knowledge, beliefs and
attitudes

7. Framing
● Metaphor: Compare an idea
to something else
● Story: Create vivid and
memorable heroes, villains,
and victims
● Slogan: Use a catchy
phrase to make an idea
more memorable
● Moral judgement: Describe
an idea in terms of of human
values

8. Providing facts &
neutral information
from experts &
officials
Journalistic Objectivity
Avoiding interpretation
and using language in
ways that minimizes
bias
Maintaining
independence from
political parties &
insulation from
advertising pressures

9. How do news
media outlets
communicate a
point of view
through the
choice of headline
and image?
The Guardian, April 13, 2020

10. Consider
the Question
Who benefits and who is harmed
by news partisanship?

11. 8FORMS OF NEWS
LOCAL MEDIA
Websites that algorithmically
curate content from a range
of sources and use human
editors to (re)write news
from other sources
NEWS AGGREGATORS
Major national
newspapers
and broadcast
TV stations
LEGACY MEDIA
Newspapers
& TV stations
that reach a
specific
region
CITIZEN JOURNALISM
Video, photos and other
media produced by
ordinary people
“BORN DIGITAL” NEWS
Online publications that
produce original content
CONTENT PUBLISHING
Websites that publish general
interest content and may rely
on sponsored content that
advances the public relations
goal of a business of
company
Journalistic publications that
specialize in uncovering
important issues that often
include abuses of power
ANALYSIS & INVESTIGATION
META-JOURNALISM
Publications that focus on the
news industry itself

12. News and Social Media Aggregation

13. Metaphorical use of language in news reports
can influence people’s beliefs about crime

14. Police Violence
Against African Americans
Oscar Grant (2009)
Eric Garner (2014)
Michael Brown (2014)
Tamir Rice (2014)
Freddy Gray (2015)
Philando Castile (2016)
Stephon Clark (2018)
Breonna Taylor (2020)
Ahmaud Arbery (2020)
George Floyd (2020)

15. WASHINGTON, DC - March 24, 2018: Hundreds of thousands of people
take to the streets in the March for Our Lives, a nationwide protest against
gun violence in wake of the Parkland school shooting.
People’s moral judgments
about violence and crime can
be affected by the framing that
journalists provide as they
emphasize
• the perpetrator
• the victims
• the context and
circumstances

16. Vietnam:
The
Living
Room
War

17. Why does local TV news use
sensationalism to attract viewers?

18. WALTER LIPPMANN
Intellectual Grandparent
● Stereotypes are in our heads
● Reporter-source relationships shape the
news
● Agenda-setting occurs through opinion
leadership

19. Critical Questions of
Media Literacy
1. Who is the author and what is the
purpose?
2. What techniques are used to
attract and hold attention?
3. What lifestyles, values, and points
of view are depicted?
4. How might different people
interpret this message?
5. What is omitted?
Who Gets to Be a Citizen?

20. Time to Reflect
What do you think are the
biggest challenges facing
journalism today?

21. Create to Learn
Analyze and Comment
on a News Story
#MLAction
Message/Content
Your Rationale for Selection
News Values
Audience
Construction Techniques
Context
Credibility
Omissions
Judgment