Marisa Abrajano and Zoltan L. Hajnal
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164434
- eISBN:
- 9781400866489
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164434.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines the role of news media in driving white fears regarding immigration. In particular, it explores the relationship between media coverage of immigration and aggregate shifts in ...
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This chapter examines the role of news media in driving white fears regarding immigration. In particular, it explores the relationship between media coverage of immigration and aggregate shifts in white party identification. It first considers how the media influences public opinion before discussing the media's profit-driven incentives to frame immigration in a negative manner. Content analysis of immigration-related articles from the New York Times from 1980 to 2011 shows that when the issue of immigration is brought to the attention of the public, it is generally with an emphasis on the negative consequences of immigration. This negative coverage leads to important effects on white macropartisanship. Across this time period, the chapter finds that the reliance on the Latino threat narrative by the media is correlated with significant defection away from the Democratic Party along with increases in the proportion of the public that identifies as Republicans and Independents.Less
This chapter examines the role of news media in driving white fears regarding immigration. In particular, it explores the relationship between media coverage of immigration and aggregate shifts in white party identification. It first considers how the media influences public opinion before discussing the media's profit-driven incentives to frame immigration in a negative manner. Content analysis of immigration-related articles from the New York Times from 1980 to 2011 shows that when the issue of immigration is brought to the attention of the public, it is generally with an emphasis on the negative consequences of immigration. This negative coverage leads to important effects on white macropartisanship. Across this time period, the chapter finds that the reliance on the Latino threat narrative by the media is correlated with significant defection away from the Democratic Party along with increases in the proportion of the public that identifies as Republicans and Independents.
Matthew A. Baum and Philip B. K. Potter
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164984
- eISBN:
- 9781400866472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164984.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the validity of the “Downsian Premise,” which states that democratic multiparty systems tend to engender political coverage that is more diverse, more policy-centric, and more ...
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This chapter examines the validity of the “Downsian Premise,” which states that democratic multiparty systems tend to engender political coverage that is more diverse, more policy-centric, and more prone to challenge the government's policy line than coverage in two-party democracies. To test this proposition, the chapter conducts content analyses of international media coverage of four recent multinational conflicts (Kosovo 1999, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, and Libya 2011). Newspapers in countries with more political parties offered relatively more policy-oriented news, more criticism of government policy, and more varied topical coverage than their counterparts in countries with fewer parties. These results lend credence to the Downsian Premise.Less
This chapter examines the validity of the “Downsian Premise,” which states that democratic multiparty systems tend to engender political coverage that is more diverse, more policy-centric, and more prone to challenge the government's policy line than coverage in two-party democracies. To test this proposition, the chapter conducts content analyses of international media coverage of four recent multinational conflicts (Kosovo 1999, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, and Libya 2011). Newspapers in countries with more political parties offered relatively more policy-oriented news, more criticism of government policy, and more varied topical coverage than their counterparts in countries with fewer parties. These results lend credence to the Downsian Premise.
Sanford C. Goldberg
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199593248
- eISBN:
- 9780191594625
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593248.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, General
This book concerns the role others play in our attempts to acquire knowledge of the world. Two main forms of this reliance are examined: testimony cases, where a subject aims to acquire knowledge ...
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This book concerns the role others play in our attempts to acquire knowledge of the world. Two main forms of this reliance are examined: testimony cases, where a subject aims to acquire knowledge through accepting what another tells her; and cases involving “coverage,” where a subject aims to acquire knowledge of something by reasoning that if things were not so she would have heard about it by now. It is argued that these cases challenge some cherished assumptions in epistemology. Testimony cases challenge the assumption, prominent in reliabilist epistemology, that the processes through which beliefs are formed never extend beyond the boundaries of the individual believer. And both sorts of case challenge the idea that, insofar knowledge is a cognitive achievement, it is an achievement that belongs to the knowing subject herself. The book uses results of this sort to question the broadly individualistic orthodoxy within reliabilist epistemology, and to explore what a non‐orthodox reliabilist epistemology would look like. The resulting theory is a social‐reliabilist epistemology — one that results from the application of reliabilist criteria to situations in which belief‐fixation involves epistemic reliance on others.Less
This book concerns the role others play in our attempts to acquire knowledge of the world. Two main forms of this reliance are examined: testimony cases, where a subject aims to acquire knowledge through accepting what another tells her; and cases involving “coverage,” where a subject aims to acquire knowledge of something by reasoning that if things were not so she would have heard about it by now. It is argued that these cases challenge some cherished assumptions in epistemology. Testimony cases challenge the assumption, prominent in reliabilist epistemology, that the processes through which beliefs are formed never extend beyond the boundaries of the individual believer. And both sorts of case challenge the idea that, insofar knowledge is a cognitive achievement, it is an achievement that belongs to the knowing subject herself. The book uses results of this sort to question the broadly individualistic orthodoxy within reliabilist epistemology, and to explore what a non‐orthodox reliabilist epistemology would look like. The resulting theory is a social‐reliabilist epistemology — one that results from the application of reliabilist criteria to situations in which belief‐fixation involves epistemic reliance on others.
Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Roberta Green-Ahmanson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195374360
- eISBN:
- 9780199871902
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374360.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book analyzes media coverage of major news stories in which religion is a major component and recounts how journalist often miss, or misunderstand, these stories because they do not take ...
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This book analyzes media coverage of major news stories in which religion is a major component and recounts how journalist often miss, or misunderstand, these stories because they do not take religion seriously, or misunderstand religion when they do take it seriously. Since religion is a major and growing factor in human affairs throughout the world and, hence in major news stories, including those stories often mislabeled “secular,” if reporters do not take it seriously or understand it, then they will be poorer reporters. To the extent that journalists do not grasp events’ religious dimensions, both global and local, they are hindered from, and sometimes incapable of, describing what is happening in the world around us. The book contains six case studies that each describe an important event, issue, trend, problem, or situation, seek to show the centrality of religion to the story, then outline how journalists actually covered it, and how they often got it wrong. The two concluding chapters focus on ways, both conceptual and practical, of improving coverage.Less
This book analyzes media coverage of major news stories in which religion is a major component and recounts how journalist often miss, or misunderstand, these stories because they do not take religion seriously, or misunderstand religion when they do take it seriously. Since religion is a major and growing factor in human affairs throughout the world and, hence in major news stories, including those stories often mislabeled “secular,” if reporters do not take it seriously or understand it, then they will be poorer reporters. To the extent that journalists do not grasp events’ religious dimensions, both global and local, they are hindered from, and sometimes incapable of, describing what is happening in the world around us. The book contains six case studies that each describe an important event, issue, trend, problem, or situation, seek to show the centrality of religion to the story, then outline how journalists actually covered it, and how they often got it wrong. The two concluding chapters focus on ways, both conceptual and practical, of improving coverage.
Sanford C. Goldberg
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199593248
- eISBN:
- 9780191594625
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593248.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, General
This chapter examines beliefs formed on the basis of one's expectation that if things were not so, one would have heard about it by now. It is argued that a proper reliabilist assessment of these ...
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This chapter examines beliefs formed on the basis of one's expectation that if things were not so, one would have heard about it by now. It is argued that a proper reliabilist assessment of these beliefs must attend to various cognitive dispositions of the members of the subject's community. On the model offered, such “coverage‐supported” beliefs are a species of inferentially‐acquired beliefs, where the inference is from a premise asserting the subject's expectation of relevant coverage. The epistemic goodness of the subject's expectation, in turn, is determined by reference to prevailing social practices and institutions.Less
This chapter examines beliefs formed on the basis of one's expectation that if things were not so, one would have heard about it by now. It is argued that a proper reliabilist assessment of these beliefs must attend to various cognitive dispositions of the members of the subject's community. On the model offered, such “coverage‐supported” beliefs are a species of inferentially‐acquired beliefs, where the inference is from a premise asserting the subject's expectation of relevant coverage. The epistemic goodness of the subject's expectation, in turn, is determined by reference to prevailing social practices and institutions.
Andrea Miller, Shearon Roberts, and Victoria LaPoe
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617039720
- eISBN:
- 9781626740174
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617039720.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This book explores the media experiences of the dual disasters to hit the Gulf Coast within five years, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. The disaster journalism is compared ...
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This book explores the media experiences of the dual disasters to hit the Gulf Coast within five years, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. The disaster journalism is compared and contrasted as the authors explore the media-fed experiences, visuals, and narratives. The Katrina journalists have reluctantly grown into Oil Spill journalists. The book will look at this process of growth from the viewpoints of not only the journalists, but the public, the science community, and through an analysis of the journalists’ own content. This book explores the quality of journalism within these two events and the effects it may have on the public. Crisis media coverage affects the interpretation and the experience of an event. The premise is that it all leads back to the fundamentals of solid journalism and the importance of following these tenets consistently in an enduring crises atmosphere – especially when the crises are just years apart.Less
This book explores the media experiences of the dual disasters to hit the Gulf Coast within five years, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. The disaster journalism is compared and contrasted as the authors explore the media-fed experiences, visuals, and narratives. The Katrina journalists have reluctantly grown into Oil Spill journalists. The book will look at this process of growth from the viewpoints of not only the journalists, but the public, the science community, and through an analysis of the journalists’ own content. This book explores the quality of journalism within these two events and the effects it may have on the public. Crisis media coverage affects the interpretation and the experience of an event. The premise is that it all leads back to the fundamentals of solid journalism and the importance of following these tenets consistently in an enduring crises atmosphere – especially when the crises are just years apart.
Lynn S. Chancer
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226101125
- eISBN:
- 9780226101132
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226101132.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter analyzes the Central Park jogger case in New York which involved the rape and assault of a young woman on April 19, 1989. It examines the media coverage and public reactions to the case ...
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This chapter analyzes the Central Park jogger case in New York which involved the rape and assault of a young woman on April 19, 1989. It examines the media coverage and public reactions to the case and suggests that the case received enough journalistic attention to elevate it to becoming a “provoking assault.” This chapter highlights the role of the media in generating widespread reactions to the case and argues that it symbolized social problems concerning violence against women and inner city violence.Less
This chapter analyzes the Central Park jogger case in New York which involved the rape and assault of a young woman on April 19, 1989. It examines the media coverage and public reactions to the case and suggests that the case received enough journalistic attention to elevate it to becoming a “provoking assault.” This chapter highlights the role of the media in generating widespread reactions to the case and argues that it symbolized social problems concerning violence against women and inner city violence.
Jody Lyneé Madeira
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814796108
- eISBN:
- 9780814724545
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814796108.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the ...
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This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the media to cement the bombing's place in American memory and considers how media coverage became a source of crucial information to family members and survivors concerning the bombing site's status. It also shows how the media became an avenue for victims to air their opinions and a forum where they could advocate for change, along with media coverage of the other perpetrators, namely, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. Finally, it examines the mass media's efficacy as a site of collective memory as well as the criticisms against the media for exaggerating, sensationalizing, or overreporting information.Less
This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the media to cement the bombing's place in American memory and considers how media coverage became a source of crucial information to family members and survivors concerning the bombing site's status. It also shows how the media became an avenue for victims to air their opinions and a forum where they could advocate for change, along with media coverage of the other perpetrators, namely, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. Finally, it examines the mass media's efficacy as a site of collective memory as well as the criticisms against the media for exaggerating, sensationalizing, or overreporting information.
Jody Lyneé Madeira
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814796108
- eISBN:
- 9780814724545
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814796108.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the ...
More
This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the media to cement the bombing's place in American memory and considers how media coverage became a source of crucial information to family members and survivors concerning the bombing site's status. It also shows how the media became an avenue for victims to air their opinions and a forum where they could advocate for change, along with media coverage of the other perpetrators, namely, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. Finally, it examines the mass media's efficacy as a site of collective memory as well as the criticisms against the media for exaggerating, sensationalizing, or overreporting information.
Less
This chapter focuses on media coverage of suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing, their motivations, their families, and their life histories. It suggests that Timothy McVeigh was counting on the media to cement the bombing's place in American memory and considers how media coverage became a source of crucial information to family members and survivors concerning the bombing site's status. It also shows how the media became an avenue for victims to air their opinions and a forum where they could advocate for change, along with media coverage of the other perpetrators, namely, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. Finally, it examines the mass media's efficacy as a site of collective memory as well as the criticisms against the media for exaggerating, sensationalizing, or overreporting information.
Lisa Fitzgerald and Gillian Abel
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847423344
- eISBN:
- 9781447303664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847423344.003.0012
- Subject:
- Social Work, Crime and Justice
This chapter examines the role of the media in the context of the implementation of the 2003 Prostitution Reform Act (PRA). It determines whether the media coverage of the PRA reinforced existing ...
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This chapter examines the role of the media in the context of the implementation of the 2003 Prostitution Reform Act (PRA). It determines whether the media coverage of the PRA reinforced existing moral discourses of sex work or developed original ones within the new policy context. To determine the role played by the media, a content analysis of the print-media reporting on the PRA is provided. The chapter also explores messages communicated in and by the print media in New Zealand from 2003 to 2006. It furthermore employs a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 58 sex workers concerning their media-coverage experiences. The main emphasis of the chapter is on the moral discourses of sex work, which dominated print media in spite of the media's attempts to maintain a neutral stand on prostitution. Reporting that focused on the morality of prostitution was particularly acknowledged by the sex workers, and was believed to be a tool for the reinforcement of the existing stigmatisation of sex work. Apart from highlighting the type of media reporting that reinforced stigmatisation, the chapter also highlights the manner in which sex workers resisted dominant discourses in their everyday practices.Less
This chapter examines the role of the media in the context of the implementation of the 2003 Prostitution Reform Act (PRA). It determines whether the media coverage of the PRA reinforced existing moral discourses of sex work or developed original ones within the new policy context. To determine the role played by the media, a content analysis of the print-media reporting on the PRA is provided. The chapter also explores messages communicated in and by the print media in New Zealand from 2003 to 2006. It furthermore employs a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 58 sex workers concerning their media-coverage experiences. The main emphasis of the chapter is on the moral discourses of sex work, which dominated print media in spite of the media's attempts to maintain a neutral stand on prostitution. Reporting that focused on the morality of prostitution was particularly acknowledged by the sex workers, and was believed to be a tool for the reinforcement of the existing stigmatisation of sex work. Apart from highlighting the type of media reporting that reinforced stigmatisation, the chapter also highlights the manner in which sex workers resisted dominant discourses in their everyday practices.
Renee C. Fox and Judith P. Swazey
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195365559
- eISBN:
- 9780199851881
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365559.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This book examines the history of bioethics as a discipline related not only to modern biology, medicine, and biotechnology but also to the core values and beliefs of American society and its courts, ...
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This book examines the history of bioethics as a discipline related not only to modern biology, medicine, and biotechnology but also to the core values and beliefs of American society and its courts, legislatures, and media. The book is written from the perspective of social science. The book draws on first-hand observations and experiences in a variety of American bioethical settings, face-to-face interviews with first- and second-generation figures in the genesis and early unfolding of bioethics, a detailed examination of the theatrical media coverage of what was considered to be a banner event in the annals of bioethics (the creation and birth of the cloned sheep Dolly), case studies of how bioethics has internationally developed, and a large corpus of primary documents and secondary source materials. While recognizing the intellectual, moral, and sociological importance of American bioethics, the book is critical of its characteristics. Foremost among these are what the book identifies as the problems of thinking socially, culturally, and internationally in American bioethics; the “tenuous interdisciplinarity” of the field; and the troubling extent to which the “culture wars” have penetrated bioethics.Less
This book examines the history of bioethics as a discipline related not only to modern biology, medicine, and biotechnology but also to the core values and beliefs of American society and its courts, legislatures, and media. The book is written from the perspective of social science. The book draws on first-hand observations and experiences in a variety of American bioethical settings, face-to-face interviews with first- and second-generation figures in the genesis and early unfolding of bioethics, a detailed examination of the theatrical media coverage of what was considered to be a banner event in the annals of bioethics (the creation and birth of the cloned sheep Dolly), case studies of how bioethics has internationally developed, and a large corpus of primary documents and secondary source materials. While recognizing the intellectual, moral, and sociological importance of American bioethics, the book is critical of its characteristics. Foremost among these are what the book identifies as the problems of thinking socially, culturally, and internationally in American bioethics; the “tenuous interdisciplinarity” of the field; and the troubling extent to which the “culture wars” have penetrated bioethics.
Klaus Bachmann
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199795840
- eISBN:
- 9780199345274
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199795840.003.0019
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter examines the factors that contributed to the deterioration of the ICTY's public image during the Milošević trial and the choices that media outlets made based on those factors. It ...
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This chapter examines the factors that contributed to the deterioration of the ICTY's public image during the Milošević trial and the choices that media outlets made based on those factors. It identifies two dominant frames in the media coverage of Milošević. One, which fundamentally supported international criminal law and its prevalence over municipal law (“pro-ICL”), was deployed by most Western, liberal-democratic media outlets, as well as some in the former Yugoslavia. The other involved frames used by nationalist media from the former Yugoslavia and some radical left-wing outlets from Western Europe (“anti-ICL”), which promoted national sovereignty rather than international law.Less
This chapter examines the factors that contributed to the deterioration of the ICTY's public image during the Milošević trial and the choices that media outlets made based on those factors. It identifies two dominant frames in the media coverage of Milošević. One, which fundamentally supported international criminal law and its prevalence over municipal law (“pro-ICL”), was deployed by most Western, liberal-democratic media outlets, as well as some in the former Yugoslavia. The other involved frames used by nationalist media from the former Yugoslavia and some radical left-wing outlets from Western Europe (“anti-ICL”), which promoted national sovereignty rather than international law.
Eoin O’Malley, Roddy Flynn, Iain McMenamin, and Kevin Rafter
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781781380277
- eISBN:
- 9781781381564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781380277.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter argues that the issue of media influence on Irish elections is very much an open question. It sets out the main arguments about election campaigns and media coverage in the literature ...
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This chapter argues that the issue of media influence on Irish elections is very much an open question. It sets out the main arguments about election campaigns and media coverage in the literature that looks at how the media might have an impact. It then looks at specific literature on Irish campaigns. It then examines, in detail, how national media outlets covered the 2011 general election. Amid increased concerns that media coverage of elections concentrates on process over substance by treating politics as a game rather than a sphere of policy choices, it finds that the media coverage of election 2011 was dominated not by personality politics but by policy discussions.Less
This chapter argues that the issue of media influence on Irish elections is very much an open question. It sets out the main arguments about election campaigns and media coverage in the literature that looks at how the media might have an impact. It then looks at specific literature on Irish campaigns. It then examines, in detail, how national media outlets covered the 2011 general election. Amid increased concerns that media coverage of elections concentrates on process over substance by treating politics as a game rather than a sphere of policy choices, it finds that the media coverage of election 2011 was dominated not by personality politics but by policy discussions.
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226243252
- eISBN:
- 9780226243283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226243283.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Disdainful intellectual elites call television a “boob tube” and “chewing gum for the brain,” while media specialists counter by claiming that television is “the foremost medium for cross-demographic ...
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Disdainful intellectual elites call television a “boob tube” and “chewing gum for the brain,” while media specialists counter by claiming that television is “the foremost medium for cross-demographic communication” and has brought heightened literacy to the culture. Are viewers “a passive and helpless mass incapable of discrimination,” or are they canny eyewitnesses making “their own socially pertinent meanings out of the semiotic resources provided by television”? Recent criticism on the influence of television removes one level of controversy by rejecting a frequent bromide: the claim of objectivity. If outside opinion can influence a trial, all media coverage becomes suspect at some level. This chapter examines the coverage of well-known courtroom trials as a control group to illustrate the nature of transmission in the high-profile trial of today. The trial of Louise Woodward, a nineteen-year-old British au pair, in the Middlesex Superior Court of Massachusetts in 1997 can be used to clarify how sensationalism, anxiety, and social value come together in postmodern perceptions.Less
Disdainful intellectual elites call television a “boob tube” and “chewing gum for the brain,” while media specialists counter by claiming that television is “the foremost medium for cross-demographic communication” and has brought heightened literacy to the culture. Are viewers “a passive and helpless mass incapable of discrimination,” or are they canny eyewitnesses making “their own socially pertinent meanings out of the semiotic resources provided by television”? Recent criticism on the influence of television removes one level of controversy by rejecting a frequent bromide: the claim of objectivity. If outside opinion can influence a trial, all media coverage becomes suspect at some level. This chapter examines the coverage of well-known courtroom trials as a control group to illustrate the nature of transmission in the high-profile trial of today. The trial of Louise Woodward, a nineteen-year-old British au pair, in the Middlesex Superior Court of Massachusetts in 1997 can be used to clarify how sensationalism, anxiety, and social value come together in postmodern perceptions.
Bruce Mirken
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195188028
- eISBN:
- 9780199893577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188028.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Psychopharmacology
The contentiousness of the marijuana debates has contributed to the way prohibitionists and reformers frame their arguments and present their data. One of the most accessible and persuasive sources ...
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The contentiousness of the marijuana debates has contributed to the way prohibitionists and reformers frame their arguments and present their data. One of the most accessible and persuasive sources of information is the media. This chapter reviews some salient examples of the way reporting can go awry. It questions the idea that alarming events are more newsworthy and therefore more likely to generate more consumers of media. In a sense, it argues that the lay public is more intelligent than many media sources think. Most readers are willing to appreciate nuanced arguments filled with complications and caveats, so there is no need to simplify any difficult literature. These oversimplifications have the potential to backfire if they contradict people's personal experience.Less
The contentiousness of the marijuana debates has contributed to the way prohibitionists and reformers frame their arguments and present their data. One of the most accessible and persuasive sources of information is the media. This chapter reviews some salient examples of the way reporting can go awry. It questions the idea that alarming events are more newsworthy and therefore more likely to generate more consumers of media. In a sense, it argues that the lay public is more intelligent than many media sources think. Most readers are willing to appreciate nuanced arguments filled with complications and caveats, so there is no need to simplify any difficult literature. These oversimplifications have the potential to backfire if they contradict people's personal experience.
Valorie A. Crooks, Jeremy Snyder, Leigh Turner, Krystyna Adams, Rory Johnston, and Victoria Casey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199917907
- eISBN:
- 9780199332878
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199917907.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
This chapter provides a media content analysis of Canadian print media depictions of medical tourism. It describes how the lack of reliable information in these sources about the numbers and ...
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This chapter provides a media content analysis of Canadian print media depictions of medical tourism. It describes how the lack of reliable information in these sources about the numbers and motivations of Canadians traveling abroad for care, and about how the public-health and resource-allocation effects of this practice domestically and abroad, have hindered a balanced and informed public discussion of the ethical issues raised by medical tourism. Fifty-nine articles are included in this media analysis. The analysis shows that Canadian print news media articles identify various factors employed to explain why Canadian patients go abroad for private medical care. The Canadian news media accounts of medical tourism address ethical issues linked to the quality of care and patient safety at international health care facilities. Finally, the significances for future Canadian media coverage of medical tourism are reviewed.Less
This chapter provides a media content analysis of Canadian print media depictions of medical tourism. It describes how the lack of reliable information in these sources about the numbers and motivations of Canadians traveling abroad for care, and about how the public-health and resource-allocation effects of this practice domestically and abroad, have hindered a balanced and informed public discussion of the ethical issues raised by medical tourism. Fifty-nine articles are included in this media analysis. The analysis shows that Canadian print news media articles identify various factors employed to explain why Canadian patients go abroad for private medical care. The Canadian news media accounts of medical tourism address ethical issues linked to the quality of care and patient safety at international health care facilities. Finally, the significances for future Canadian media coverage of medical tourism are reviewed.
Dieter Ohr
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199259007
- eISBN:
- 9780191803406
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199259007.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter examines the empirical basis of hypotheses on personalization and presidentialization with respect to election campaigns and the media coverage of politics. It begins by presenting some ...
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This chapter examines the empirical basis of hypotheses on personalization and presidentialization with respect to election campaigns and the media coverage of politics. It begins by presenting some of the main arguments behind the notion that political communication has become more personalized in advanced democracies in general and more presidentialized in parliamentary, party-dominated democracies in particular. It then considers whether and why a more ‘candidate- or leader-centred’ presentation of politics should have an impact on the political judgements of voters. Next, it presents empirical evidence which sheds light on the degree of personalized and presidentialized political communication in advanced democracies. The focus will be on the structural changes in the media systems of Western democracies that have occurred during the last decades, such as the spread of television, and which are likely to have fundamentally altered the rules of the game for the mass media coverage of politics. It also assesses to what extent the main communication media, that is, television and the press, have changed their coverage of politics in terms of personalization and/or presidentialization.Less
This chapter examines the empirical basis of hypotheses on personalization and presidentialization with respect to election campaigns and the media coverage of politics. It begins by presenting some of the main arguments behind the notion that political communication has become more personalized in advanced democracies in general and more presidentialized in parliamentary, party-dominated democracies in particular. It then considers whether and why a more ‘candidate- or leader-centred’ presentation of politics should have an impact on the political judgements of voters. Next, it presents empirical evidence which sheds light on the degree of personalized and presidentialized political communication in advanced democracies. The focus will be on the structural changes in the media systems of Western democracies that have occurred during the last decades, such as the spread of television, and which are likely to have fundamentally altered the rules of the game for the mass media coverage of politics. It also assesses to what extent the main communication media, that is, television and the press, have changed their coverage of politics in terms of personalization and/or presidentialization.
John Kiarie Wa’Njogu
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635221
- eISBN:
- 9780748653010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635221.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, African Studies
This chapter discusses the neglect and/or negative portrayal of Africa by Western media, Africa's contribution to its negative coverage and possible corrective measures, arguing that the immensity of ...
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This chapter discusses the neglect and/or negative portrayal of Africa by Western media, Africa's contribution to its negative coverage and possible corrective measures, arguing that the immensity of Africa's problems and its potential to affect the Western world politically and economically can no longer be minimised. There are ways of ensuring that this complex continent does not remain relegated to the backwater of the news, brought to light only during clashes, coups and natural catastrophes such as floods and drought. To cover Africa with the thoroughness and competency it deserves requires imagination, effort and financial resources. To fail to do so is to deny its present and future importance on the world stage.Less
This chapter discusses the neglect and/or negative portrayal of Africa by Western media, Africa's contribution to its negative coverage and possible corrective measures, arguing that the immensity of Africa's problems and its potential to affect the Western world politically and economically can no longer be minimised. There are ways of ensuring that this complex continent does not remain relegated to the backwater of the news, brought to light only during clashes, coups and natural catastrophes such as floods and drought. To cover Africa with the thoroughness and competency it deserves requires imagination, effort and financial resources. To fail to do so is to deny its present and future importance on the world stage.
Leigh Moscowitz
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038129
- eISBN:
- 9780252095382
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038129.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gay and Lesbian Studies
This book examines how media coverage helped to define and shape the gay marriage debate as well as gay rights activism during the period 2003–2012. Through an analysis of media reports and in-depth ...
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This book examines how media coverage helped to define and shape the gay marriage debate as well as gay rights activism during the period 2003–2012. Through an analysis of media reports and in-depth interviews with leaders of the modern gay rights movement, it investigates how media frames and activist discourses evolved surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage. It looks at the aims and challenges of leading gay rights activists who sought to harness the power of mainstream news media to advocate for their cause and reform images of their community. It also considers how gay and lesbian rights groups attempted to shape coverage of the same-sex marriage debate, and what images and narratives about gay and lesbian life activists foregrounded. Finally, it discusses ways in which media attention surrounding the gay-marriage issue reshaped the structure, organization, and goals of the contemporary gay rights movement. This introduction provides an overview of the legal and political contexts of gay marriage in the United States, the rise of gay-themed media, and the research approach and plan of the book.Less
This book examines how media coverage helped to define and shape the gay marriage debate as well as gay rights activism during the period 2003–2012. Through an analysis of media reports and in-depth interviews with leaders of the modern gay rights movement, it investigates how media frames and activist discourses evolved surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage. It looks at the aims and challenges of leading gay rights activists who sought to harness the power of mainstream news media to advocate for their cause and reform images of their community. It also considers how gay and lesbian rights groups attempted to shape coverage of the same-sex marriage debate, and what images and narratives about gay and lesbian life activists foregrounded. Finally, it discusses ways in which media attention surrounding the gay-marriage issue reshaped the structure, organization, and goals of the contemporary gay rights movement. This introduction provides an overview of the legal and political contexts of gay marriage in the United States, the rise of gay-themed media, and the research approach and plan of the book.
Isabel Molina-Guzmán
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814757352
- eISBN:
- 9780814759547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814757352.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter examines coverage of Jennifer Lopez's body, sexuality, and identity in U.S. tabloids (National Enquirer, People, Star, Us Weekly and in Touch) from 1999 to 2004. It also analyzes ...
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This chapter examines coverage of Jennifer Lopez's body, sexuality, and identity in U.S. tabloids (National Enquirer, People, Star, Us Weekly and in Touch) from 1999 to 2004. It also analyzes audience readings of tabloid news about Lopez through a discussion of celebrity Web logs (blogs) on the Web site Blogcritics Magazine during the same period. Tabloid news stories about Lopez illustrate how the Puerto Rican body functions as a sexually desirable, ethnically and racially ambiguous docile body that is financially productive within the realm of global popular culture and equally threatening to dominant ethnic and racial formations in the United States. The tension between global desire and domestic danger explains the gendering and racialization of Lopez as outside the boundaries of whiteness and middle-class respectability. Blogs about Lopez and reactions to them demonstrate how audiences negotiate the symbolic colonization of Lopez in ways that both reaffirm and symbolically rupture dominant public understandings about gender, ethnicity, and race.Less
This chapter examines coverage of Jennifer Lopez's body, sexuality, and identity in U.S. tabloids (National Enquirer, People, Star, Us Weekly and in Touch) from 1999 to 2004. It also analyzes audience readings of tabloid news about Lopez through a discussion of celebrity Web logs (blogs) on the Web site Blogcritics Magazine during the same period. Tabloid news stories about Lopez illustrate how the Puerto Rican body functions as a sexually desirable, ethnically and racially ambiguous docile body that is financially productive within the realm of global popular culture and equally threatening to dominant ethnic and racial formations in the United States. The tension between global desire and domestic danger explains the gendering and racialization of Lopez as outside the boundaries of whiteness and middle-class respectability. Blogs about Lopez and reactions to them demonstrate how audiences negotiate the symbolic colonization of Lopez in ways that both reaffirm and symbolically rupture dominant public understandings about gender, ethnicity, and race.
