Communications and Media

The Choice of News and Content in the Media

METHODOLOGY
The essay is based on a critical analysis of five selections of news articles under the breaking news section in the Sydney Herald Morning and the Herald Sun newspapers. The analysis is contextualized within unfolding events both locally and internationally. Further, the paper examines choice of language, content and news items in relation to the nature of the specific events they report about. Within this analysis, artistic forms such as irony, symbolism and narration are explored, viz a viz the professional dictates of journalism such as adherence to truth, facts and objectivity.

The selection of the particular articles was based on their relevance to current affairs in international relations and issues of moral controversy in society. They also reflect a conscious effort by media houses to sensationalize news reportage as a strategy of keeping abreast with competition in the industry. Finally, the paper discusses how the relevant domains of media reporting, namely legitimate controversy and deviance, are blended to make news not only a presentation of an array of hard facts and a dry recollection of events, but also a souped-up rendition of truth to capture audience interest.

Journalism is indeed an art form that blends facts with narrative techniques to make news. While most journalists tend to consider themselves as gatherers of facts rather than story tellers (Schudson, 2003, 177), the reality of print media reportage is that though unwittingly, the reporter does not merely report the occurrences of actual events. In addition to the recollection, compilation and presentation of facts about daily events, they employ narration techniques that make a chronology of facts a story-like rendition of events. This s because by themselves, facts, however accurate and chronological, do not make an effective audience-interest arresting reading. And yet, for the thematic concerns to reach the targeted audience and achieve the desired effects, the eventfact-news must be packaged in a form that appeals to the audience, and presents the news in a lively, curiosity-provoking and interesting manner. By examining the choice of news and content in journalistic reporting in general and the Australian print media in particular, the paper argues that journalism is a blend of true stories, news and narratives, which are employed to achieve effective communication.
The making of a news worthy item out of a heap of facts begins with the reporters conception of the underlying aspects that make a story of particular interest. It should contain leads that invoke audience curiosity and desire to know about something. Essentially, facts and events of common consensus are not news on the other hand, they become news when the reporter goes beyond public knowledge of the facts to give them a new meaning. In the Sydney Morning Herald article US weighs new options against North Korea, the writer hints at a more serious motive by Washington than the mere condemnation of the attacks on a South Korean ship by alleged North Korean militia men. In a subtle reference to the USs intrusive nature on foreign issues, it implies a possible Washington-led military action upon North Korea. By quoting the thinly veiled threat by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that Washington is assessing additional options to hold North Korea accountable and pledging full support to South Korea at a difficult hour (Luce, 2010), the crux of the matter is not just a demonstration of Washingtons benevolence towards the bereaved South Korea. Were that the issue, it will not make news since it is expected that terrorist attacks should be condemned universally. On the contrary, it is the implicit suggestion that the US has already made a Pyongyang-Seoul conflict a

Washington business that makes the news of the story. The suggestion that the USs response to the crisis is an additional option apart from UN protocol alludes to the formers tendency to violate international laws on foreign aggression, echoing the USs arrogant invasion of Iraqi in early 2003. It implicitly suggests that the UN is toothless where America is involved.

At the same time, news reportage portrays a relationship of issues within a wider perspective. The unfolding of a specific event points to a wider scheme of interrelated events, which makes facts and news a set of narratives. In this regard, the story NZ protesters throw shoes over Gaza (Sydney Morning Herald June 5, 2010) relates to the anti-American sentiments running deep in the larger Arab world, mainly on account of its support of military and political campaigns against Muslims. In this particular incidence, the outburst was provoked by the Israel military attacks on a Gaza bound aid-ship. However, in the bigger picture of the situation, the US is blamed for its military and financial support of Israels operations in the Middle East. Thus, the relationship of facts and events between the US pledge to support South Korea and Israel against their respective political enemies is, in reality, a US war against its perceived enemies around the world. Similarly, the throwing of shoes itself is a symbolic portrayal of the wide-spread disgust and hatred of America in the Arab world. It is a statement of the long-standing enmity between the former and the latter, which recalls the experience of former US president George W. Bush on his visit to Iraqi in 2008. The symbolism portrayed in this incidence suggest an ongoing conflict, indicating that it is a story with legs (Schudson, 2003 177), with implications of similar new developments in future. The bottom line of the argument, then, is that the real news is not the facts about emerging events as reported, but the story about developing events as narrated. In summary, if the US ignores a UN protocol, oil her tanks and head east, then it will not be an isolated event, but a continuing narrative of the USs foreign military policy and political agenda. 

As much as news items try to make a delicious reading, they also aim to make a commentary on public life and issues of national interest. The demand for specific stories is due to their public relevance, or connection to certain issues that are of public concern. Moreover, they make moral criticism of perceived perversion of societal norms. For instance, the article AFL footballer Jason Akermanis egged for comments on gay players (Herald Sun, May 25 2010) is both a portrayal of public life about public figures and a commentary on their moral behavior. AFL players are figures of public interest, and ass such, their character is subject to public scrutiny. The choice of the incidence as a possible interesting news item stems from the fact that homosexuality is a controversial issue in society. More importantly, the controversy is delicious news when it involves prominent figures in society who finds themselves in a moral dilemma. Recently, the scandalous revelation of Tiger Woods sexual escapades made breaking news in the US not basically because infidelity is a moral vice, but largely because it involved a famous celebrity. Likewise, the throwing of eggs at Akermanis house is not news entirely due to the novelty of the egg-throwing incidence, but rather because of the high profile personalities involved, making an a perfect case of public interest.

A common aspect in news reportage is the prevalence for astonishing and outrageous incidences. But since reporters could not concoction fairy tales or fictitious exaggerations to make horrifying news, they select news events that are uniquely out-of the way and extraordinary enough to make a awesome reading. The two articles, Bad laws, not bad whores sex workers and Staff at a Queensland zoo are sacrificing their pay to keep the zoos lions and other animals from starving by the Sydeny Morning Herald and News.com respectively, fulfill these requirements of a holy shit story (Schudson, 2003).

In the former case, it reports of a demonstration by sex workers in Sydney to end whore-phobia and claim their human rights, whatever they are. The extraordinariness of the situation is that commercial sex is regarded as a violation of societys moral values, and symptomatic of a wider breakdown of social order. Thus, it will be astonishing for perceived elements of social decadence to claim a right to in a society, which, should it be accorded them, will threaten the moral decency that governs human societies. The display of slogans such as whore-power and sluts unite is blatantly outrageous, in the sense that giving power to the whores and the establishment of unity among sluts is not only deviance to the structures of society, but also a mockery to the normal order of things. At the same time, it portrays the paradox of social institutions charged with the dispensation of justice, which ignores the blight of marginalized groups. It highlights the impossibility of creating a perfectly just society, in which all groups will be equally represented. Regardless, however, it captures the harsh reality and wicked sincerity of the sex workers argument, by noting that We are human beings, we are people, we do a job and we are continually vilified for that job, and the head-on punch line that What we want society to see is that sex work is real damn hard work, and ... we provide a service like any other industry (Smith, 2010).

In terms of the cultural view regarding media reporting, the stories demonstrate a tendency by the media to promote a culture of biased portrayal of some sections of society. Thus, the choice of content in some instances show implicit attempts of prejudice and stereotyping along racial lines. For instance, the reference to the demonstrations in Auckland over the Gaza conflict conveys subtle messages about the tendency by the Arab world and their sympathizer to resort to violence and guerrilla tactics to air their grievances. It suggests their lack of decency in human interactions, by the total disregard of dialogue in resolving disputes. It paints a picture of a hooligan society with rebellious elements, to whom an intellectual dialogue is of little value. Reading between the lines, the story blurs the line of distinction between a terrorist and a normal public demonstration, leading to a further distortion of the character of the Arab world and Muslims in general. The news that the crowd burnt the US and Israel flags and then addressed by various speakers, including Palestinians, an Irishman, a Turkish man and several others with friends in the flotilla (NZPA, June 5, 2010) is not just an informative insertion for public consumption. On the contrary, it serves the purpose of linking the demonstration to the usual suspects with terrorist connections.  As Elizabeth Bird and Robert Dardenne (1997) argue, there exists a degree of pretense that every news item reflects the facts of recorded events. In reality, the facts are presented in such a manner that they serve a grand plan of portraying certain sections of society in a certain light, perhaps for purposes of propaganda.

In the News.com story, the essence of the articles weirdness lies in the decision of the zoo owners to cut employers salary so as to feed animals. It takes some degree of crookedness in reasoning to assert that in No way is our animals health or their food ever, ever compromised and that they (animals) are No. 1 and the humans are No. 2. (Jenny Jattke, qtd in News.com, 2010). Under normal circumstances, the value of human beings supersedes that of any other creature by all means. While the circumstances in question are a bit abnormal from the acute scarcity of food for the animals, it is normally expected that, to borrow the horses mouth, In no way, is human health or their food, is to be ever, ever compromised. The inversion of values and hierarchy of importance departs from natural law, thus making a theme worthy weaving into a news story.

Nonetheless, both stories evoke a moral dimension in relation to human behavior. The news items belong to the category of moral values, which suggest that there ought to be a law (Schudson, 2003 181) to direct human behavior. The show of outright deviance to the appeal of common sense in the animal case and mockery of moral values in the whores demonstration for legitimization of vice in society are the elements that make the juice of the story and by extension, worthy reporting news.
In conclusion, the print media industry presents a system of purposeful communication to achieve certain effects in among the target audience, such as to communicate moral lessons. While the aim of reporters is to gather and present facts about events as they unfold, it is practically impossible to communicate them in their raw form. Consequently, the presentation of facts and news about events is woven into narrative forms and stories that appeal to readers interest and provoke audience curiosity. Similarly, reporters choose themes that depart from ordinary circumstances, due to the appeal of astonishing revelations. However, the culture within which news stories are manufactured also influence the choice of content, such that it serves a wider purpose of creating certain cultural and racial images among readers.

Appendix
The nature of news reporting sometimes hinges on individual style of the journalist. Chibnall, S. (1981). The production of knowledge by crime reporters, notes that Six reporters put through a court session could not come out with exactly the same story. This perhaps explains the elements of disparities in news rendering that distinguish various media houses, in terms of content choice and form.

There is evidently a close relationship between social structures and mass media institutions. Western democracies lean towards a liberal ideology of mass communication, which is embedded in the concepts of free press and freedom of expression. To a large extent, this could be the main factor behind the fragmentary mature of the mass media industry, due to the presence of tolerance of diverse ideas, and lack of stringent media rules applied in communist and most Arab countries. In addition, the degree of media flexibility and press freedom reflects the state of human rights, since a free press represents the voice of the commons more effectively.

The political process of any country hinges heavily on media institutions. It is through the media that political ideologies are disseminated and impressed in the public psych. Similarly, the media has considerable influence on political campaigns due to its wide reach. Accordingly, news stories featuring political aspirants could be a disguised advertising strategy. However, since politics is inherently a competitive process, it is likely that candidates must have a monetary value, either directly (payments to media houses) or indirectly (economic policies affecting the industry and popularity-newspaper sales), to earn publicity. It is here that the relationship between mass media and economics, explaining why media houses could prefer some candidates over others.

Hersey, J., 1981, The legend on the license. Yale Review, observes that it is the writer of fiction who could invent a story, but the journalist could not. As such, they generate stories about events rather than create them. Given the need to narrate facts as news stories, it is a bit difficult to draw a line of distinction between hard news, which is aimed to inform about unfolding events, especially in breaking news, and soft news, which diverts a little from facts.

The media sometimes feeds racial conflicts, as noted by media scholars Charles Husband and Paul Hartman.

There is a tendency by British media to encourage derogatory elements about foreigners, particularly those of black origin (Schudson 2003, p 183). While news articles headlines may refer to official sources, the content tends to be interpretive of motives and facts. These elements of interpretative extend to graphic expressions such as caricatures, which convey sentiments of hatred across religious and cultural borders. The recent portrayal of Prophet Mohamed as a terrorist in a western media portrays the potential of news to create racial conflicts, leading to the conclusion that media institutions sometimes function as instruments of promoting cultural prejudice and stereotypes.