Archive for August 2018

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[ecrea] Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies 7.2 published

Mon Aug 06 09:46:03 GMT 2018







Intellect is pleased to announce that the /Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies <https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=220/view,page=0/>/ 7.2 is now available! For more information about this issue including how to purchase and subscribe, click here >> https://bit.ly/2vH0j8Z <https://bit.ly/2vH0j8Z>
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_*_Press councils as a traditional instrument of media self-regulation: The perceptions of European journalists_*

Authors: Marcel Mauri i de los Ríos, Ruth Rodríguez-Martínez and Mònica Figueras Maz And Maddalena Fedele
Page Start: 221

Press councils are among the traditional self-regulatory instruments present in most European countries and, as a part of a wider network of accountability systems, need to be analysed and evaluated. This article presents part of the results of a cross-national European project studying journalism, ethics and regulating systems, and focuses on the opinion of journalists from twelve European and two Arab Mediterranean countries regarding the perceived impact of press councils as instruments of self-regulation, compared with other traditional mechanisms. The study was conducted with a quantitative approach: an online questionnaire was administered to 1762 journalists, and data were analysed by using the SPSS software (significance set at <0.05). The sample was selected based on several criteria to achieve representative national sub-samples. The journalists’ answers about the perceived impact of different regulatory and self-regulatory instruments are analysed. Press councils are seen as having a mid-range perceived impact when compared with the other instruments. Journalists from the countries where press councils have been in place for a long time perceive the impact of these instruments to be higher, with the exception of the United Kingdom, a country that was a pioneer in the consolidation of press councils. Middle-aged, male and lower-income journalists attribute the lowest impact to press councils.

_*Intermedia agenda-setting effect in corporate news: Examining the influence of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on local newspapers*_

Authors: Xiaoqun Zhang
Page Start: 245

This study tested the first-level and second-level intermedia agenda-setting effect in corporate news. Significant correlations were found between the numbers of articles of nine food companies in the two US elite newspapers and many local newspapers. Significant correlations were also found between the number of articles containing seven attributes of a focal company, between the number of articles with four tonalities about it, and between the number of articles with four tonalities about its attributes. No strong evidence for the causal relationships was found. The significant correlations suggested that elite newspapers can be used as a proxy of local newspapers to explore the relationship between media coverage and corporate reputation. The test was based on a content analysis of 2817 news articles from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and many US local newspapers.

_*Results of framing in music journalism: Benefits and burdens of being designated heir to a cultural icon*_

Authors: Jordan M. McClain
Page Start: 265

This article aims to expand media framing research beyond traditional content analyses of political coverage and examines the consequences of framing found in music journalism, since entertainment coverage receives a significant share of media and audience attention. To understand the results of such framing, nineteen interviews were conducted with content producers – a specific group of expert writers, editors and publishers who offered essential perspectives about the consequences of a particular case – focusing on the example of coverage frequently characterizing the band Phish (1983–present) vis-à-vis the Grateful Dead (1965–1995). Findings indicate that framing can be a problem for the framed subject, but can also lead to certain benefits.

*_They never made it to the end: Reader uses of a multimedia narrative_*

Authors: Kate Kartveit
Page Start: 289

How does an audience respond to the structure, visual design and narrative flow of a multimedia narrative? Are readers following the course that an author-driven linear reading path suggests? This study investigates these questions through an eye-tracking experiment. In research within news websites that employ eye-tracking experiments the case in this study represents a new phenomenon for investigation, the longform multimedia feature. It is also especially interesting to explore how the readers interact with this type of narrative because the narrative is constructed as an author-driven embedded multimedia story and thus resemble what Dowling and Vogan describe as the ‘urtext’ of the multimedia longform genre. The findings of this study indicate that readers navigate according to the authordriven narrative flow within a chapter/part. But the readers in this study missed or misunderstood the navigational options between story parts. The ongoing digitalization in media outlets and the experimentation and developing of journalistic products might benefit from research addressing multi-methodological approaches.

_*When societies crash: A critical analysis of news media’s social role in the aftermath of national disasters*_

Authors: Stijn Joye
Page Start: 311

Apart from their primary role as news providers in disaster situations, news media can also assume a broader social role. Drawing on a critically informed qualitative content analysis of the Belgian news reporting on a national disaster, the article reveals a twofold articulation of this social role. The first consisted in newspapers highlighting the emotional dimension with potential societal implications of raising compassion and identification. Second, we found a strong articulation of a discourse of (national) unity and community, aimed at restoring the disrupted social order in the disaster’s aftermath. Both aspects were discursively established by a dominant presence of emotional testimonies, strategies of personalization and by the use of inclusive language permeated with references to nation or community. The study highlights the important social role of journalism in disaster situations and events involving human suffering.

_*The Moroccan digital media’s representation of the Moroccan woman: A multimodal analysis to Hespress discourse*_

Authors: Rachid Acim
Page Start: 329

Of the many influences on how Moroccan people perceive the Moroccan woman, Moroccan digital media is presumably the most powerful tool used throughout; in fact, Moroccan digital media direct the public opinion, frame specific images, and perpetuate both realistic and unrealistic speculations about the Moroccan woman, whose voice is carefully selected and whose presence goes sometimes reported and at other times unreported. This article is a deep reflection of the overall images chosen to manufacture consensus about the Moroccan woman in the Moroccan digital media; more specifically, emphasis is going to be laid on how Hespress, as an emerging Moroccan news outlet, advertises different conceptions and representations about the Moroccan woman at home and overseas. The article is predicated on the notion of framing news stories, which propel journalists to decide on what is newsworthy and what is not. The researcher’s pivotal argument is that a process of selection is obviously developed by Hespress in its dealing with and detailing on the question of the Moroccan woman. Put otherwise, a large space is arguably accorded to certain women who have outperformed their peers in many vital sectors of life and led successful stories nationwide. As for those women, whose stories do not correlate with the policy and the editorial line of Hespress, they are devoiced and still marginalized. To address this topic more effectively, the researcher suggests utilizing a multimodal analysis to the discourse of Hespress about the Moroccan woman. A preliminary examination of the literature documenting the media’s discourse about her will be considered. Then, an elaboration of the methodology adopted will be explored. Finally, some pedagogical recommendations will be advanced in this article to enable students promote critical reading and hone not only their analytical but also their interpretative skills as concerns Hespress discourse on the Moroccan woman.

*_Journalists’ and news editors’ views on children as news subjects in Albanian media: Exploring issues of newsworthiness and self-censorship
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Authors: Emiljano Kaziaj
Page Start: 351

This article explores the views of journalists and news editors on children in Albania, through a series of interviews with noted media professionals. This study finds that stories about children are not considered as newsworthy and children are mostly seen as unreliable stand-alone sources by journalists and news editors. As a mechanism to mitigate the risks of being refused by their editors, journalists increase the newsworthiness of children-focused news items by directing the story towards adults (mostly politicians) and by quoting them. Considering children’s perspectives in news coverage is essential, as it contributes to a social order that acknowledges children’s agency.

_*God and sport: Orientalism in Sports Illustrated coverage of religion*_
Authors: Patrick Ferrucci And Gregory P. Perreault
Page Start: 371

This study utilizes textual analysis to analyse how the popular and influential sports magazine Sports Illustrated covered religion over the period from 1 January 1994, to 1 September 2014. The data showed that the magazine wrote about religion in three primary ways: as an exotic characteristic that makes an athlete somehow odd, as incongruous since sports themselves display similar characteristics to religion, and as a front to hide some insidious real motive. These results are analysed through the lens of Edward Said’s theory of orientalism, which argues that the press tends to cover dominant groups as ‘normal’ and ‘others’ the remaining groups, which has been shown, historically, to have damaging impact. This study concludes with a discussion concerning how SI’s coverage of religion could impact society.

*_Cracking the coding ceiling: Looking at gender construction in data journalism from a field theory perspective_*

Authors:  Sara de Vuyst
Page Start: 387

This article examines the construction of gender in data journalism from a field theory perspective. It focuses on the internal logic of data journalism as well as on its relationship with the computer field. Our research question explores how male and female data journalists accumulate capital and build careers in data journalism. We conducted 26 qualitative interviews with a cross-national sample of journalists who had varying levels of interest and experience in data journalism. The findings indicate that female journalists see both opportunities and challenges in data journalism. On the one hand, women entered the field of data journalism in an attempt to avoid male-dominated networks, harassment and gender segregation, which limits their opportunities for recruitment and career advancement in traditional journalism. On the other hand, data journalistic skills were discursively gendered. Digital capital, which could be exchanged for greater amounts of symbolic capital, was typically associated with masculinity.

*_Teaching vicarious trauma in the journalism classroom: An examination of educational provision in UK universities_*
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_*Authors: Doug Specht And Julia Tsilman
Page Start: 407

The connections between vicarious trauma and the viewing of violent User-Generated Content (UGC) are becoming an increasingly important topic in journalism. As more journalist work begins to rely, or at least incorporate UGC, the risks to journalists have been shown to increase. This can lead to short, unpleasant careers, and in some cases, serious, long-lasting mental health risks. Yet while this discussion is beginning to unfold in the newsroom, universities are lagging behind in their understanding of the topic. This article, through content analysis of undergraduate course materials, and through interviews with lecturers and journalists, found that almost no course in the United Kingdom is teaching the risks of vicarious trauma or UGC. It was found that while some educators wish to make more of the topic, a number of institutional factors, such as lack of training and time, worries over duty of care, and available resources make this a difficult, if not impossible task. The article recommends a new emphasis is placed on vicarious trauma, coupled with training and interdepartmental support.

_*Journalism meets games: Newsgames as a new digital genre. Theory, boundaries, utilization*_
*_
_*Authors: Klaus Meier
Page Start: 429

Newsgames are a young genre of digital journalism. This article analyses the genre on the basis of cases from various countries, puts it into context, critically examines the theoretical foundation and presents a study of utilization. A scientific definition takes the perspective of ‘boundary work’: It distinguishes Newsgames from other digital games (such as interestdriven, entertaining or educating games) and draws a boundary between Newsgames and other digital journalistic genres (such as multimedia reports, web documentaries or types of data journalism). The drawing of Newsgames boundaries highlights the general problems of drawing boundaries of journalism in digital media. To date, no study on the utilization of Newsgames exists. Our explorative and qualitative interviews and observations are situated within the framework of uses and gratifications research. Main categories are the level of awareness, information performance and success factors of Newsgames. The results show that the new genre possesses a wide range of possibilities that cannot be uniformly assessed. Ethical doubts as to whether serious topics should be played in games are offset against the benefit of creating interest and empathy. Users want to experience success when playing – an aspect that emphasizes the competitive character and distinguishes Newsgames from other genres.

*_The journalism of Gannett Blog: Revealing communities of practice and social construction through collective dynamics_*
*_
_*Authors: William Schulte
Page Start: 445

Gannett Company was one of the largest media operations in the United States but struggled in recent years with loss of revenue and circulation. Gannett Blog reported news related to the company from 2007 to 2014. The blog was independent and covered corporate news, job loss and issues of ethics. This used Gannett Blog to study how individuals reacted to their changing workplace. As information was gathered and presented from multiple users, a crowdsourcing dynamic gave context to Gannett’s landscape. Theories of communities of practice and social construction underpin this study. This study suggests that the rhetoric on Gannett Blog evolved into more than a distribution channel for information. It became a social space where original information evolved and helped negotiate social meaning for the users. Overall, this study found that communities of professionals could be influential in growing a journalistic product as per the tenets of the communities of influence model. This study also identified themes consistent with news workers using Gannett Blog for community building, expanding knowledge and maintaining professionalism during industry change.
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