NDM: News values

Galtung and Ruge (1981) defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not. 

The following list is adapted from their work:

Immediacy: has it happened recently?
Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain?
Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people?
Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly?
Unambiguity: is it clear and definite?
Predictability: did we expect it to happen?
Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event?
Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?
Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people?
Negativity: is it bad news?
Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

How has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?

I don't think there much alteration in the news values in new and digital media apart from the fact that the news is more immediate, and we can get hold of the news through other platforms such as social media i.e. twitter etc.

How would you update them for 2015?

In a blog post, write how EACH news value has been affected by the growth of new and digital technology.

Though social media the amplitude of people is considered less because its user generated and people tent to talk about what concerns them on a personal level rather than tweeting or instagramming about something more general affect a large population. 

The familiarity has also had an impact on new and digital media as, platforms such as diverse twitter are personalised accounts and are owned by people of different ethnic minorities and any news can start circulating or trending on twitter allowing for more people to speak about things that may not necessarily involve Britain. 

Additionally continuity is affected as social media platforms do not have a certain agenda backing them up, it is usually stories that people find interesting and may differ and not always be the same. This can be interlinked with balance, as they don't need to alter the order  on news being presented social media. 

citizen journalism

child beaten on cctv 

vandalisation on car

man stabbed to death streets of ldn

stealing shirts itv

have i got news for you-drunk santa

police detained 25 y/o rascist

australian woman arrested for throwing dog poo at police

weekly 15/10/15

Sun website traffic slips by 14%

MailOnline 13,365,390 (-2.46%)
theguardian.com 8,370,243 (+11.28%)

Telegraph 4,419,480 (+0.11%)

Mirror Group Nationals 3,894,176 (-8.77%)
The Independent 2,780,560 (+10.32%)
Express.co.uk 1,213,037 (-0.03%)
The Sun 1,108,861 (-14.04%)
Metro 925,535 (-33.9%)
Dailystar.co.uk 570,609 (-35%)
Evening Standard 410,250 (-3.32%)

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/15/sun-website-traffic

 the sun may suffer because of its pay wall, as less people are willing to pay to consume the news when they  can alternatively get similar content from other companys.

i think that ultimately people will turn to what is cheaper and where they can access the news

Rebekah Brooks is back – to make sure Murdoch becomes even more dominant

Yet it would be wrong to suggest that Brooks’s return means the campaign to expose hacking and its cover-up made no difference. the news of teh world closed; the Press Complaints commission died of humiliation; Downing Street started declaring meetings with media owners. Most significantly of all, Murdoch postponed his takeover of all of sky tv which would have handed him the master key to the country’s future mainstream media.

Shes cleared of any convictions and is ready to get to the top again, i think that altough her tactics are quite mean she is very successful in what she does and her determination is ver inspiring to many people.

NDM News: Citizen journalism

article from Media Magazine: The Rise and Rise of UGC (Dec 2009).

• examples

King, an African-

American, after a high speed chase, the officers surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs.

There were six days of riots, 53 people died, and 

around 4000 people were injured. The costs of 

the damage, looting and clear-up came in at up 

to a billion dollars.

The natural disaster of the Asian Tsunami on 

December 26th 2004

A second terrible event, the London 

bombings on July 5th 2005,

• theory (audience reception etc.) 

• benefits to institutions 

1. they are presented as less biased and more trust worthy

• benefits to audience 

1. it allows members of the public to generate their own news, with less bias factors surrounding it, which ultimately allows democracy. 
2. The audience can get a challenged and alternative perspective from citizen journalism
3. less polished and more trust worthy and objective
4. its more exciting to see the action live, is more interactive too
5. helps promote pluralism

• wider issues and debates 

1. we might see some really gory,and uncomfortable to watch; lack of censorship ultimately democracy 
2. competition with other news stations
3. could be a hoax 

• SHEP

1. social: it allows the wider public to me more involved with the news 
2. historical: the progression of this new technology has empowered the public and from recent times may have dis empowered professionals 
3. economical: this will definitely have an affect the revenue of the bugger news stations because average people will be able to provide news on social media making the news some what irrelevant  
4. political: through the rise of user generated content, news stations may not be able to effectively  promote their political beliefs 

Next, answer the following questions in the same blogpost:

1) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’? 
the collection and analysis of the news by the public particularly shared on the internet 

2) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?


3) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.
comments 
talk shows

4) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?
its more real, exciting and trust worthy

5) What is a gatekeeper?
someone who controls the content allowed on the platform

6) How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?
they 

7) What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?
they might become jobless as ordinary people are doing what journalists do for a living

Finally, consider the following questions and answer each bullet point in the same blogpost:

What impact is new/digital media having on the following:

• news stories

it allows people to have access to the news story before its released on the news via radio or tv, rather social media such as Twitter and Facebook

• the news agenda (the choice of stories that make up the news)

through new and digital media, the news is more objective and 

• the role of professionals in news

the role of professionals have become less important as it can be done by ordinary people.

Newspapers: The effect of online technology

1) Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online? Why? 
No, personally I believe that the news, regardless of what platform it is being producing on should be available for free. This is because I believe that it plays a huge role generating a critical autonomy and allow democracy as we are more open to current affairs, which very much have an impact on the way we live. Also the BBC is one of the biggest corporation in Britain and works hand in hand with the British community, how its being run and the policies and values it carries. I believe that free news is something we at citizens are entitled to, and by putting a fee on it will force many people to stop purchasing and taking in news that concerns their economic,social and 
2) Read this blog on the Times paywall three years on.

3) Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sun) behind a paywall?
No, I do not think it was Rupert Murdochs most most brilliant move, as the news should be information everyone is open to,and not restricted to the audience that pays. This may ultimately lead to the negligence of current affairs across the country.  

4) Choose two comments from below the Times paywall article - one that argues in favor of the paywall and one that argues against. Copy a quote from each and explain which YOU agree with and why.

'Maybe a locked-down paywall is the answer after all, to preserve a newspaper as an institution.'

Jasper Jackson, 2013

I agree with this comment maybe it will help newpaper institutions to gain abit of money however, the affect of it on the audience more detrimental than a company losing some money. It may be considered unethical.

It is so ridiculous if these mainstream newspapers believe that they can "force readership of fee-based news. One can get the same "news" for free almost anywhere on the internet. I'd take a hint from the alternative free weeklies that survive just off their local advertising. I don't think anyone would read them otherwise. These papers are full of paid advertising. The fee model will never work.

Jerry Harris, 2013

I agree with the gentleman here because most of the public will turn to free news.

5) Read this article from the Media Briefing on the continuing decline of the newspaper industry. 

6) Why do you think the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years? this is hugely influenced by the fact that the evening standard is free.

7) Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.

Well I think it depends on how interactive and significantly relevant they keep the content. Maybe in the future someone will come up with a more interesting way to keep the audience interested. However if they carry on the way they are going, it may slowly but surely diminish, as there will be no need for it due to the digital disruption. This is because people can find the same thing or even more through the digitised version, they can also voice their opinions and share their views unlike traditional media platforms. 

weekly 9/10/15

young woman on Instagram and self-esteem: 'I feel absolutely insecure'
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/04/instagram-young-women-self-esteem-essena-oneill

Summer Andrews, 18: ‘If it doesn’t get enough likes, I take it down’

I do feel insecure if I see girls who look prettier than me, or if they post really pretty pictures, and I know won’t look as good in any that I post. I do feel pressure to look good in the photos I put up. I don’t feel anxious about not getting enough likes on a photo but if it doesn’t get enough likes, I will take it down.

Kerry Donnelly, 23: ‘I don’t generally feel insecure’

I feel pressure to look good or appear a certain way – to a certain extent. I wouldn’t post a picture where I don’t feel good about myself. But I also wouldn’t avoid posting a photo that I want to share just because I didn’t look my best.

If I post a picture (particularly of myself) and, let’s say the guy I had a crush on ‘liked’ it, of course that would affect my self-esteem in a great way. The same way it would affect my self-esteem negatively if I posted a picture of a new haircut, for example, and only received seven likes. When I see little sisters of my friends (in their late high school or early college years) posting over-filtered selfies that get 200-plus likes, I realize how silly social media really is.

Saeeda Tremaine, 23: ‘I don’t post pictures to prove anything’

I post a lot of food pictures because I love visiting new restaurants and going out to eat with friends, and I post a good amount of quotes that I find inspiring or that raise an important issue, but I don’t post pictures to prove anything to anyone.

I follow a lot of celebrities, and I know I can’t compete with their looks. When I look at pictures that friends post, I don’t feel insecure. But I do think it affects how often I will post pictures of myself. I want to make sure that my pictures look as good, if not better than the pictures that my friends post.

I don’t think Instagram affects my self-esteem. If I’m having a bad hair day or a breakout, I obviously won’t take a selfie, but if I’m having a good day, looking good and feeling good, I’ll show that through my Instagram photos. Also, my friends are usually very supportive of my selfies and they’ll post comments that reassure me that my picture looks good.

The news article expresses a number of diverse opinions about how young people particularly feel about posting pictures on-line on the social networking app Instagram. Essena O’Neill, an Australian teenager with half a million Instagram followers has decided to quite the platform because it is “contrived perfection made to get attention”.

I personally think that people have their own ways of thinking and let some things such as superficiality get to them, especially in the progressing materialistic age we live in. However if I could reach out to the young women on these social networking sites I would emphasize more on their character and their resilience, bravery or intelligence, not because i do not think they're pretty but because there is so much more to them then something as simple as what you were born with.   
Furthermore, I would like to comment on how both male and female around the world need to embrace their perfect imperfections and feel proud of who they are and what they look like.

Culture minister calls on social media sites to tackle transphobic hate

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/03/culture-secretary-ed-vaizey-social-media-tackle-transphobic-hate

“There needs to be more regulation. If people behaved like that in a school or at work it would be dealt with. Why is it that people can say such horrific things online and we have to accept it?” he told the Guardian.

As well as discussing the issue of transphobic online content and hate speech, MPs at the inquiry questioned Vaizey about media policy on transgender equality. He said it was the duty of broadcasters to see transgender representation on screens not as “something exotic, but completely mainstream”. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, should have an updated code of conduct next spring, Vaizey revealed. 

The article explains the ongoing online hate to the LGBT community and how not much is being done in defence of the minority group. 

I believe that regardless of our sexuality, no human should be violated or discriminated against. I also agree with Jay Stewart who says that social media sites need to have a more strict policy to prevent transphobic or any other discrimination for that matter.

audience and institutions

1) Read this extract from the Ofcom 2014 report on the consumption of news in the UK. What are the key statistics relating to the influence of new and digital media?

News consumption the UK

• This is particularly evident in the 16-34 age group,where use of internet or apps for news has increased from 44% in 2013 to 60% in 2014.

• with 75% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news; this figure has seen a small decrease since 2013 (78%).

• over a quarter (28%) of those who consume news in the UK named BBC One, compared to over one-third (34%) in 2013. Since 2013 there has been an increase in the number of people stating a website/app as their most important news source.

• However, 16-24 year olds consumed only 27 hours of news on television in the same period, compared to 196 hours for those aged 55 and over.
• UK politics and current affairs, and worldwide current affairs,

• are seen to have societal importance by half (49%) of UK adults, crime by 48% and weather by 45%.

2) Come up with an example of an institution that has benefited from the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. Explain how new technology has helped the institution and try to find statistics or financial figures that support your point.

people who work or are at school and uni ect. may not have time through out the day to keep updated with the channels and programmes particularly because the may not free at the time, however because of demand by the audiences, BBC iplayer has been set up so that people may catch up and watch their programme at a a time that may suit them. This allows google and also the BBC  to increase their viewers and ultimately increase their income/profit.

3) Find an example of an institution that has suffered as a result of the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. In what way has it had a negative impact? Again, try and find actual statistics or financial figures to explain your point

The shop called Block Buster went bust because it used to sell CD's however as time progressed less people could access movies and music for free on-line and the demand of DVDs were very little.

4) Answer the following question in a mini-essay on your blog:

Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?

The impact of new and digital media has had a great influence on the way audiences view news and the way it may have benefited or caused problems for huge British institutions.

Because of new and digital media, news can be access everywhere and anywhere, whether its on the go or at home too.This is done through the usage of apps, twitter  or even just browsing through e-news. Essentially a great advantage to this is the fact that audiences can voice their opinions on the comments section or re-tweet and favourite certain news, this also allows an interactive relationship and democracy to to play an important role in our society, as more people are aware of the news and do not just have to rely on the television to gain access to news.  

This also has a positive impact on the news institutions as they get to publicise their institution which will ultimately generate a higher number of viewers, consuming their media for news. 

On the other hand people in the future may not have free access to the news on-line and print, by having a fee to view the news on certain plat forms leading to the decrease in consumption of the news

User generated forums also allow audiences to publish news out and about which breaks out of the traditional gate keepers and allows alternative view to be voiced. Conversely, this may have a negative impact and lead to a decline in the profits of major and even smaller news producing news and their institution can suffer from this badly, resulting to job cuts and decline in revenues.  

Newspapers suffer disproportionately as they are still running with costly and unwieldy ‘old media’ print distribution. There are approximately 55,000 shops and outlets with a delivery of heavy newspapers early every morning. 

weekly 14/10/15

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/23/media-muslims-study

"it is not reasonable to deny that media plays a key role in the development of anti-Muslim hatred"

The Mail on Sunday for finally apologising for its provocative headline: “Muslim gang slashes tyres of immigration-raid van”. After an attack on a immigration enforcement vehicle, even though the faith of the perpetrators was still not identified. on Wednesday 23 September 2015 09.00 BST the guardians columnist  stated 'its time the media treated Muslims fairly', as an article reporting the falling of a crane in Saudi was some how linked to the 9/11 attack. The Guardian says the we need to raise awareness of the problem as most of the Islamaphobia is due to religious illiteracy. He ended the article with 

We are equal members of society and demand fairness, not favours. Avoiding daily smears, group libel and the violent consequences is not too much to ask of the nation’s editors.

As a Muslim i do believe that some article very biased do evoke and stir up hate for Muslims making them feel alienated. This may be to create a moral panic within communities and ultimately provoke hints of change in the way people in the public view Muslims. However, i do also believe that its not all of them and that some places on the media such as BBC is delivering increasing acceptance of the minority group, through the channels documentary's such as 'miss Muslimah pageant' documented by Dina Tokio a mixed race young British Muslim female fashion Blogger. This helps people learn and grow acceptance to the minority group. 

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/24/sun-editor-says-he-would-have-published-cameron-pig-serialisation

The new editor of the Sun, Tony Gallagher argues that he cant see why you wouldn't want to publish the news about the encounterment of the dead pig and our prime minister. He says it reveals something very interesting about the nature of the prime minister, the circle he inhabits, the upbringing he had, the kind of behaviour he may or may not have engaged in when he was at university. 

I think that the prime ministers personal past shuould be kept to him self and that just because he did something intolerable in his youth should not define him, it is more 'gossip' to capture readers than 'learning' about the prime minister. On the other hand the freedom of information may act may be in the defence of those wanting to get a story.

weekly 7/10/15

A holographic representation of the late Whitney Houston will tour the world in 2016, it has been announced.

this event is clearly nostalgic and a great opportunity for fans to see their fave singer again and witness another great preformance. However this may also b controversial to some family firnds and fans as they have to relive and encounter her preformance and it may bring back many memories, furthermore because the singer has passed away it is unethical to view this without her consent.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/17/australian-mp-julie-bishop-goes-on-late-night-tweeting-spree

A little tired and emojinal ?

Juilie bishop the Australian affairs minister put tweeted a number of times late last night with different emojis, her tweets ranged from discussing the Tv dating show 'The Bachelor', to thanking her local airport. 

I dont understand why this had to be on the news, i mean just because shes a an affairs minister does not and should not limit what she can and cannot tweet, although there was no distinct opinion of this, there is still an unconscious bias here as it has made it to the news