What is news?

The assignment is due on Thursday.

Newsworthiness criteria:

• Relevance - why does this matter?

• Conflict, controversy - is there tension?

• Human interest - is there drama?

• Unusualness - if it happens every day, is it news?

• Impact - what does this mean to me, or to the community at large?

More determining factors:

• Proximity - how is it connected to me?

• Prominence or importance - was this a an event that will be remembered in years to come, or did it happen to someone of public interest?

• Timeliness - is the story fresh?

Also, please note whether the story was presented as:

LIVE, EXCLUSIVE or BREAKING!

The worksheet is on BlackBoard.

The assignment must be typed.

Remember to say what locallocal channel you watched and

when (time and date).

You cannot watch the news online unless you find an outlet that streams their

ENTIRE 30 minute newscast.

You don’t have to file it digitally.

Don’t turn in your homework late.

This should be easy.

Seriously.

The only way you’ll fail this class is by skipping

assignments or tests.

Ten-point extra credit:

• Sean Agnew will talk about the local music scene and how the media covers it.

• We’ll also talk about a collective music website.

• You don’t have to be a blogger to attend.

• Write a 1-page description of what you experienced (due in hard copy by 3/4).

What Shapes the News?

Ownership?

Can CEOs and media owners shape the news?

First, think about who owns what.

Rupert Murdoch is the chairman of News Corp., a multinational media operation.

• Fox Network• 20th Century Fox• MySpace• DirecTV• HarperCollins• Newspapers in

America, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand.

• Magazines around the world including The Weekly Standard and TV Guide.

In 2007, he purchased the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ has a worldwide circulation of around

2 million with nearly another million reading online daily.

Is there a danger in one man having so much power?

• In order for him to purchase the Wall Street Journal, the FCC had to permit a waiver of rules.

• Media owners are not allowed to own two competing media vehicles in one market. Murdoch already controlled WNYW and WOR.

Can he affect the news?

He controls the messages.

Who controls the messages here in Philly?

CBS Radio (180 stations)Simon & Schuster,

Showtime,King World (Oprah)

Owned by CBS

CBS3

ESPN, movies,theme parks,

music recording

Owned by Disney

6ABC

Parent companydeals in electronics,

finance, movies,trucking, etc

CNBC, MSNBC,A&E, Bravo, USA,

Sundance,Telemundo

Owned by GE2nd largest company

in the world

NBC10

Connected to WBAnd News Corp.

Affiliated withMyNetwork

A News CorpHolding

WB17

20th Century Fox,FOX Channel, magsDirecTV, MySpace,

papers, etc

Owned by News Corp

FOX29

Warner Bros ownsAOL, Turner, CNN,

HBO, movies, TIME,People, etc

Joint owned byCBS and WB

CW57

You

• Brian Tierney is the CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings

• Brian Tierney is the CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings

• They own the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com.

• Brian Tierney is the CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings

• They own the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com.

• And Broad Street Community Newspapers.

• BSCN owns the Northeast Times, the Star newspapers and The Trend.

• And they have several magazines.

• The Fishtown Star’s office is in Trevose, PA.

• The stories that run in the Star also run in the Art Museum News and other papers in the chain.

• A Former advertising and PR executive.

• Represented large institutions in the city like the Archdiocese, PECO Energy, McDonald’s, IBM, Toll Bros., etc.

• Noted conservative who worked for several Republican campaigns.

So what?

"I won't interfere," says Tierney. "That's why I wanted to get out in front, and make this very public

pledge. Because then I can tell old clients or friends or anybody, 'I'm sorry. I can't help you. I made this

pledge.'"

- Brian Tierney to the staffs

of the Inquirer and DN

Can you believe that?

Can editorial independence really exist?

The Inquirer Editorial Board recommended that

TrumpStreet be one of the two Philly locations awarded

gaming licenses.

In 2008, the Inquirer endorsed Obama, but also endorsed McCain.

Even if these decisions were not influenced by

Tierney, there is a perception that they were.

And that erodes public trust.

He actually owned up to the McCain endorsement.

Remember the principles of journalism?

The principles of journalism:

• Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

• Our loyalty is to the citizens.

• Journalism is a discipline of verification.

• We must remain independent.

• We must be an independent monitor of power.

The principles, part II:

• We provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

• We have a duty to make the significant interesting and relevant.

• We must be comprehensive.

• Journalists must have a conscience.

• Citizens are a vital part of journalism.

Can these principles co-exist with meddling owners?

Or with owners with strong convictions?

Journalism is a business.

Personal agendas Personal agendas

are nothing compared to are nothing compared to financial agendasfinancial agendas.

Business factors that determine news value:

• What sells? Info geared to wealthy demographics will make the news.

• Not necessarily circulation.

• Advertisers.

• Management by Objective (incentives for meeting goals).

Philadelphia median household income in 2000 =

$30,746

Audience = Customers?

No.

Audience = Consumers.

Our loyalty as journalists is supposed to be to the public, not

the money.

But is that the case?

How the business of Journalism has eroded the craft of Journalism:

• Ever increasing need for profit.

• Ad salesmen focus on big dollar clients - national chains, etc.

• National chains get deals for ads (small businesses don’t).

• National chains grow.

• Smaller businesses fail.

• National chains consolidate, leaving fewer big ad clients for media outlets.

With fewer and fewer major advertisers, media outlets cut

more and more staff.

More than 14,845 journalists lost jobs at newspapers in 2009.

Local television has lost a ton of jobs as well, and consolidated resources.

Smaller staffs mean decreased coverage.

Thinner coverage means audiences will dwindle.

What is journalism do to?

We still play a vital role in society, in theory at least.

What we in journalism need to doWhat we in journalism need to do (according to Kovach and Rosenstiel):

• The owners must realize that journalism and the business of journalism are intertwined, and serving the public’s interests will ultimately be more profitable.

• The business side employees must appreciate our dedication to the citizens.

• Standards of practice must be set and announced to the staff and the public.

• Journalists must have the final sayJournalists must have the final say.

We need to provide quality journalismquality journalism:

• Accuracy, balance and fairness.

• Reporting (as opposed to interpreting).

• Original content: did someone from this new outlet create this package, or did they recycle information from other outlets?

The Bottom Line?

Journalists need to be truth seekers.

And we need to suppress our personal feelings as much as possible.

Because we aren’t the story.

Don’t ever forget that.

The demand for information has never been higher.

Content is kingContent is king.

The problems with journalism today are more

about the business side, not the editorial side.

Editorial is just more visible, and they feel the pain faster.

Entrepreneurial Journalism.

For next Tuesday, please read Vivian chapter 20:

Media & the LawMedia & the Law

What is news? assignments are due Thursday.

Because of the snow day, we’ll push back the first test

one session.

The first test will be on 3/2The first test will be on 3/2.