Journalism

This article starts from the observation that the concept of objectivity, along with its twin sentries ‘balance’ and ‘impartiality’, is generally regarded as a cornerstone of journalism and, consequently, of journalism research. The aim of this article is to show that the analytical ideal of objectivity, instead of enabling, in fact inhibits media pluralism research. The first section focuses on unveiling the ideological nature of this ideal by relating it both socio-historically and analytically to a post-ideological and consensual understanding of society. Since we find this ideal only allowing for the evaluation of journalism within the limits of social consensus (pluralism ‘within the box’), the second section seeks for alternative analytical concepts to evaluate journalism about and beyond the limits of social consensus (pluralism ‘outside the box’). To illustrate the difference between both approaches, the popular concept of partisan media bias is juxtaposed to the alternative framework of de/politicization.

Research indicates a crisis in the journalistic field due to economic, technological, institutional and cultural shifts. This seems to have led to a paradigm shift in arts journalism, from a cultural to a journalistic focus, and a loss of autonomy for culture departments in the Swedish press. This article investigates how arts journalists’ professional values are affected by this presumed autonomy loss, the paradigm shift and insecure working conditions due to managerial control and economic pressure. The research material consists of interviews and articles by editors and critics debating their profession. The results show that the ideal-typical values traditionally associated with journalism in Western democratic society are under pressure. This prompts a redefinition of the profession and debate about the future of arts journalism and its threatened role of promoting cultural heritage and participation in an autonomous cultural public sphere.

This article examines how Fox News’ top-rated programs attempted to reshape the ‘collective memory’ of the Great Depression during the Great Recession. In their retelling of the Depression’s history, Fox News hosts proclaimed their kinship with the Depression generation and strove to present themselves as its modern standard bearers. Fox News’ rhetorical strategy involved shifting modes of analysis when treating past and present crises. On one hand, the principles of the Stimulus Act were presented as antithetical to the ‘producer ethic’ and values of the Depression generation. On the other hand, this same generation’s reliance on New Deal policies were de-politicized and turned into a technical question about the efficacy of Keynesian policy solutions. This article offers a multi-modal, textual analysis to reveal how Fox’s top shows executed this double-move to imply the recipients of stimulus aid in the Obama era are fundamentally different from ‘the Greatest Generation’.

This content analysis investigated whether Photos of the Day online galleries from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post present the world outside the United States in a negative manner. This study compared the results to previous content analyses of the winning images of the Pulitzer Prize and Pictures of the Year International contests. A composite month sample of 738 photographs from all three papers was coded according to themes. The findings were that Photos of the Day galleries depicted more feature and general news photos and fewer images of war and social problems than the Pulitzer Prize–winning and Pictures of the Year International–winning images. Therefore, it is argued that Photos of the Day galleries expand the newsworthiness criteria for pictures of events abroad, redefine excellent international photojournalism, and are a rare space in US photojournalism where international news is presented in a more balanced and nuanced manner.

This research is an attempt to discover diachronic trends in the presentation of Greek non-governmental organizations in two of the most influential contemporary hard-news newspapers in Greece, Kathimerini and To Vima. Drawing heavily on theories of media coverage and their relation to the non-governmental organizations, this article combines quantitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis so as to designate the crucial role of the media to the presentation of the non-governmental organizations in Greece. The research covers a wide period of 10 years (2004–2014), including several years before and during the financial crisis. Which are the main characteristics of the non-governmental organizations’ representations by the Press? Which alterations has the crisis context brought to these representations? What new forms of voluntarism has the crisis created? How does the Press ‘react’ toward the ‘insurgents’ of the non-governmental organizations field? These are some of the questions seeking answers in an under constant transformation media field.

This article identifies changes in gender patterns in New Zealand journalism by focussing on print newsrooms between the national census in 2006 and 2013. Apart from a significant drop (61%) in print journalists over the 7-year period, the ratio of males-to-females in newsrooms remained virtually the same, at around 50:50. In contrast, the article also analyses enrolments by gender at the largest journalism programme in the country. The results highlight a marked discrepancy between the number of females enrolling in journalism courses (76% on average between 2005 and 2015) and the numbers of females in newsrooms. The statistical analysis of the 2013 data indicates that males are more likely to be employed as print journalists, to earn more and achieve senior positions. The chasm between the number of female students and working print journalists reinforces the need for more comprehensive data gathering to monitor gender patterns in the New Zealand media industry and address this inexplicable gap.

This study examined how child abuse and neglect were reported in a sample of 459 newspaper articles between 2003 and 2013 in England and Wales. The results were compared with data on child abuse and neglect over the same decade. Sexual abuse was by far the most commonly reported, in both tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. Although neglect and emotional abuse are the most common causes of child protection plans in England and Wales, neglect and emotional abuse are relatively invisible in newspaper articles, as is physical abuse. Possible explanations for this disproportionate focus on sexual abuse, which has also been found in Australia and the United States, include the fact that sexual abuse cases reach the criminal courts more often than other forms of child victimisation. Although broadsheet papers were more likely than tabloid newspapers to comment on causes and solutions beyond the individual perpetrator committing a crime, the majority of articles in broadsheet papers still did not frame either the causes or the solutions in broader terms. It seems possible that the notion of the decontextualised ‘evil’ perpetrator serves to distance journalist and reader alike from the pervasiveness and pain of child abuse. The article concludes with ideas to improve the accuracy and utility of the coverage of child abuse and neglect in newspapers.