News Values Research Articles

Towards historical news values: Czech news media between past knowledge and current histotainment

Towards historical news values: Czech news media between past knowledge and current histotainment

Navigating constraints: news values and journalistic role performance in Chinese state media VR news

IntroductionThis study explores the intersection of virtual reality (VR) technology and journalism, with a particular focus on the application of VR in news productions by China Central Television (CCTV). The research aims to assess how VR enhances immersive storytelling, the prevailing news values it supports, and how journalistic roles are performed within these productions in China.MethodsA content analysis was conducted on 234 VR news productions by CCTV, examining the use of immersive elements, the representation of news values, and the roles of journalists in the context of VR news.ResultsThe findings indicate that, while VR enhances audience engagement through immersive experiences, its application in CCTV’s VR news remains limited in scope. The technology is primarily employed within traditional journalistic frameworks, often emphasizing the loyal-facilitator role.DiscussionThe study reveals that immersive journalism at CCTV tends to support state-aligned narratives, promoting positive news values and limiting the critical engagement typically associated with more interventionist journalistic models. By examining the news values and the nuanced performances of journalistic roles in the context of VR news, this research contributes to the broader understanding of how emerging technologies like VR are shaping journalistic practices in authoritarian media systems, offering insights into both the potential and limitations of VR in enhancing audience engagement while maintaining journalistic integrity.

Satire Between the Lines: Negotiating Genre Hybridity in the Satirical Newsroom of De Ideale Wereld

ABSTRACT The proliferation of political entertainment has internationally produced a wide variety of news satire formats which blend journalistic conventions with comedic storytelling. This paper investigates the production of the Belgian news satire show De Ideale Wereld through a genre theory lens, viewing genre as enacted practice. It reports on 23 interviews with the show's hosts and editorial staff and a three-week observation period in its “satirical newsroom.” The findings reveal how the creators of De Ideale Wereld engage in an on­going negotiation of comedic and journalistic roles inspired by irreconcilable genre identities, embodying conflicting intentions located on different ends of the spectrum between comedic absurdity and journalistic inquiry. Furthermore, by adhering to journalistic practices such as fact-checking and news values, the show's creators navigate perceived limitations to the subjectivity inherent to their roles as comedic professionals. This article contributes to the limited understanding of the production of news satire and the implications of hybridity on the understanding of comedic and journalistic practice.

Enhancing public engagement through NICU storytelling on Facebook and Instagram: a case study from Gaslini Children’s Hospital

BackgroundSocial media platforms, particularly Instagram, have become pivotal in disseminating medical information to the public. However, the challenge of presenting neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stories in a manner that is both engaging and informative remains significant, especially in the context of a reputable pediatric hospital.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the effectiveness of Instagram as a storytelling medium for NICU experiences at the Gaslini Children’s Hospital, focusing on the impact of various storytelling elements on audience engagement and follower growth.MethodsWe analyzed Facebook and Instagram posts of the Gaslini Children’s Hospital, examining factors such as emotional appeal, news value, and content quality. Additionally, we considered the adherence of these posts to journalistic and medical guidelines.ResultsThe research identified key themes in successful posts, including emotional resonance, portrayal of medical excellence, and humanization of patient stories. Posts that effectively combined these elements saw a significant increase in audience engagement, including likes, comments, and shares.ConclusionStrategic storytelling on Instagram can significantly enhance public engagement with hospital content, fostering a deeper connection between the institution and its audience. This study underscores the significance of narrative elements and adherence to ethical guidelines in crafting compelling medical stories for social media.

The newsworthiness of Gu Ailing: a comparative critical discourse analysis of Chinese and American media reports

Integrating discursive news values analysis and the discourse historical approach, this study compares the discursive construction of newsworthiness in the Chinese and American media’s reportage of the controversial US-born athlete Gu Ailing (or Eileen Gu), who chose to compete for China in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. It is found that the Chinese media associated Gu with grand narratives of the attraction of Chinese culture, the national image of supporting talents’ self-realization, and the propagation of a diversified youth culture. The American media, by contrast, mainly focused on representing Gu’s affinity with China as serving a country with different political systems and values. The present study demonstrates how a synthesis of discursive news values analysis and the discourse historical approach can enable discourse analysts to delineate news-value construing praxis through a critical ideological lens.

“Philanthropic Organizations Posted on Social Media: What Important Values Make Netizens React and Donate?”

ABSTRACT This study explores the underlying aspects of netizens’ reactions and actions when viewing philanthropic organizations’ posts on social media. The reactions of netizens in question are pressing the like and/or share buttons and writing comments. Meanwhile, the action is to donate. Our data comes from a survey with open-ended questions. Our respondents totaled 583 people. We found that the reaction of pressing the like button is most often done and generally without a specific reason. Netizens will press the share button when the philanthropic organization’s post evokes emotions. Netizens comment to convey trust and as a way to show sympathy for the beneficiaries. Video is a medium with higher news value and makes netizens more willing to donate than photos. Netizens will donate to a philanthropic organization’s post when they trust the institution, and it contains transparent information about the beneficiaries’ conditions and accountability and touches emotions. The presence of relevant religious quotes in the narrative of philanthropic organizations’ posts also increases netizens’ motivation to donate.

The Making of Good News: Discursive Construction of Good News Through News Values

ABSTRACT Good news aims to redress the balance from negative bias and contributes to a more comprehensive form of journalism. This article explores the largely ignored discursive construction of good news through news values. It first investigates the features of good news stories as against top news stories in the mainstream media, and then identifies differences in the discursive practices by the mainstream media and the good news outlets in covering the same events. The findings show that in the mainstream media, top news stories tend to highlight Eliteness and Negativity, whereas good news stories give emphasis to Personalization and Positivity. When covering the same events, reports by the good news outlets show an overemphasis on Positivity, and those by the mainstream media demonstrate a more balanced distribution of the major news values. It is proposed that good news can serve as a valuable complement to top news in the mainstream media. Reports in the mainstream media tend to be more comprehensive and informative, and the relatively shorter reports in the good news outlets pay more attention to the positive aspects of the event that are effective in uplifting the readers’ mood.

The news values of fake news

Fake news poses a significant threat to society by undermining public trust and consensus on critical issues. Although there is a considerable amount of research on the linguistic features of fake news texts, a comprehensive understanding of how language is used to persuade and promote specific ideologies within them is still lacking. This study addresses this gap by analyzing fake news discourse through the lens of news values. We apply the Discursive News Values Analysis (DNVA) framework and key semantic domain analysis to a corpus of fake news stories on vaccination, climate change, and COVID-19. We identify a set of news values that differentiate fake from mainstream news discourse. Our findings reveal that fake news emphasizes negativity, unexpectedness, consonance, and facticity, while also relying on the previously undocumented news values of subversiveness, causality, religiosity, and historicity. These values form a powerful discursive toolkit exploited by fake news writers to craft compelling false narratives.

How Did Chinese Local Media Face Media Convergence? A Case Study of Qianxinan Daily

ABSTRACT Scholars have long examined media convergence, yet little attention has been given to its intersection with local media and main stream Chinese media controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This study addresses this gap by employing focus groups and interviews to conduct a case study of Qianxinan Daily. Furthermore, the primary hypothesis posits that, under the leadership of the Party Committee, Qianxinan Daily has adapted to media convergence amidst the trend of media integration. The findings of this study reveal that Qianxinan Daily, under CCP leadership, benefits from stable resource access and avoids direct market competition pressure. However, this also results in organizational and reporting constraints imposed by the Party Committee’s Publicity Department in Qianxinan. While Qianxinan Daily has established a relatively solid framework, there remains significant room for improvement in manuscript quality and news value in the context of media convergence. This conclusion enriches our understanding of media convergence dynamics and highlights the influence of the CCP on this phenomenon.

The wealth effect of the US net zero announcement

This study investigates the impact of announcements relating to climate change mitigation in the US on the Energy Select Sector ETF (XLE), starting with the US president's net zero emissions announcement on 22 April 2021. We use options market data, in addition to ETF market data, to disaggregate the news effect and value effect of the announcement, finding a positive news effect ($1.65 billion) but a negative value effect (−$2.02 billion). The novel approach proposed by Barraclough et al. (2013) is adopted to identify traders' perceived probability of the achievement of net zero emissions as perceived by investors, finding that investors assigned a 30.9 % probability. Given the difficult journey of the passage of the net zero bill through Congress, we also examine the investors' perceived probability of achievement of later initiatives, as well as their news and value effects. Estimation around the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in Congress on 27 October 2021 shows a positive news effect ($824.61 million) and an almost analogous, negative value effect (−$2.32 billion). The news effect is a result of the signal to the market that reduces policy uncertainty and enables fossil fuel firms to plan with greater certainty the transition to clean energy and the value effect comes from the fact that some reserves may not be able to be extracted and some assets will be stranded. This study finds if the net zero emissions announcement is successfully enacted as legislation, the value of XLE would be 96.90 % of its current value while a failure to become legislation leads to a rise in the value of XLE to reach 106.90 % of its current value.

Perspectives from Public Relations :Media Relations in an Evolving Media Landscape

<p>The purpose of this research is to describe how Public Relations professionnals understands journalists and the media industry works to provide the information to maximise company publications in the media. This research was conducted with in-depth interviews with Public Relations professionals from different companies. Mediating The Media Model will help PR professionals understand the important factors in establishing media relations and media coverage, especially when social media and mainstream media intersect. Media relations extend beyond establishing communication with journalists. Media relations is a complex <del cite="mailto:Carl%20Christianne%20%20G.%20Dizon" datetime="2024-09-12T16:49">,</del>activity; by considering the media works, and the publication strategy that must be given to get news coverage. Especially with the development of digital technology, it provides a new space for Public Relations to carry out media relations.This research found that news values are the primary consideration in providing information subsidies to the media. Although company advertisers are considered as the primary determinant of newsrooms loading company news, the development of digital media has changed how Public Relations defines the meaning of media in media relations. Media is no longer limited to mainstream media, but also personal channels like in the case of influencers. Some mainstream media are also starting to be abandoned, particularly the radio and<del cite="mailto:Carl%20Christianne%20%20G.%20Dizon" datetime="2024-09-12T16:49">.</del> online news is becoming the first choice. Public Relations realizes several factors that influence their company's media coverage.</p>

The gap between journalists’ and audiences’ perceptions of reporting on diversity

Research suggests that the relationship between journalism and its audience is changing. As online platforms and various organisations participate in the production of information content audience expectations of what constitute news and who produces it is changing. They often seek various resources to meet their information needs, widening the gap between audiences’ and journalists’ perceptions about the role of news. This paper presents findings from a survey of n = 2266 multicultural audiences and n = 196 journalists in Australia to explore this gap. While audiences and journalists were similar in their views about traditional news values such as accuracy and timeliness, gaps emerged in their perceptions of reporting on issues of diversity. Audiences value the importance of diversity in reporting but journalists may consider it as one of the many competing priorities in their practice.

Why media platforms police the boundaries of impartiality: A comparative analysis of television news and fact-checking in the UK

This article explores whether different media platforms across impartial news media supplied the same level of scrutiny in how they fact-checked political claims. While prior research has largely focused on independent fact-checking organisations, the fact-checking practices of legacy media through a cross-platform perspective have comparatively received limited attention. The study develops new lines of inquiry into the fact-checking practices of legacy media, presenting one of the largest and most forensic cross-platform studies of fact-checking to date. It draws on a systematic content analysis of 355 items from fact-checking sites, including 689 claims and 1850 instances where journalists or sources interacted with them in 2021, and assesses how they were covered by a further 280 television news items. Our findings demonstrate that the selection and degree to which journalists and sources scrutinised political claims varied across media platforms, with television news less inclined to report and analyse policy claims than dedicated fact-checking websites. Overall, we argue that the editorial boundaries of fact-checking are policed by journalists’ interpretations of impartiality, which differ across platforms (in television news or dedicated fact-checking websites) due to a range of editorial factors such as production constraints and news values.

Why news organizations “platform” illiberal politics: Understanding news production, economic insolvency, and anti-democratic pressure through CNN’s 2023 Trump Town Hall

This article discusses how the economic insolvency of the contemporary mainstream media makes it particularly vulnerable to manipulation by illiberal political actors. Through a case study of CNN’s 2023 Trump Town Hall event, this article argues that democratic backsliding itself has become a potent constraint structuring news production routines and news decision-making. The metajournalistic discourse about the event maligned the role of CNN in “platforming” the former president, underscoring how platform logics have hijacked newsroom decision-making and news judgment. Journalists and other commentators pointed to the continuing power of Trump to dominate coverage and the continued inability of mainstream media to cover his threat to democracy via traditional norms of press/politics. Because news values continue to prioritize coverage of knowns over unknowns, news production routines highlight politicians with illiberal politics, who are in turn able to use the media’s discursive power to undermine democratic norms.

The Need for Nigerian Journalists to Re-Define News Values

Recent surveys show a decline in public interest in traditional news outlets like newspapers and television, possibly due to the constant exposure to negative stories that can lead to compassion fatigue. The major challenge is constituted by the adopted western news values which neglect our norms and focuses on praise singing the ruling elites. This article argues that, in order for Nigerian Journalists to effectively serve the nation's distinct socio-political context, traditional news ideals need to be redefined to fit our societal realities. Sensationalism and elitism are frequently given precedence over people-centered reporting in the current news values, which are primarily derived from Western media. Because of this misalignment, there is a gulf between the public and the media, which upholds social inequities and under-represents voices from marginalized groups. Nigerian Journalists should prioritize topics, stories and events that are important to their communities, support developmental or solution journalism, and hold authority figures accountable by reframing news principles. Adopting contextualized news values that represent Nigeria's political, cultural, and economic realities is necessary for this redefinition. The study suggests a framework for redefining news ideals that focus on social responsibility, local relevance, and people-centered reporting. Nigerian Journalists can recover their position as advocates for social change and catalysts for national advancement by implementing this approach. This would enhance development and audience engagement. Otherwise the public often diverts and avoids news when it makes them feel negative. And most of the western news values adopted relegate and places the masses in disadvantage disposition.

Surprised by Joy: Professional Roles as Emotional Facets of News Production

ABSTRACT Research in the field often reflects the serious, labor-intensive nature of journalism; findings that would seem to reflect the understandable exodus from the profession. Equally profound however is that so many journalists stay. Building on Parks concept of joy as a news value, this study seeks to explore the ways that joy manifests in narrated journalism practice. Through in-depth interviews with US-based journalists (n = 20), this study finds that joy emerges through engaged practices and through service-oriented role performance. In this way, joy in journalism is not only experienced, but also summoned by journalists as a means to bring light to even the darkest moments of journalistic work. Professional roles then serve as an essential means for journalists to create joy, allowing for human connection that enhance journalists’ attachment to the field.

‘We cracked a hole in this very white structure’: Indigenous journalism practices in mainstream Australian news organisations

A new wave of anti-racist politics is challenging the racialised dynamics of news media reporting. This paper explores the experiences of Indigenous journalists working in mainstream news media organisations in Australia in this changing context, and their strategies to navigate the racial political economy and news values of the industry. While many have observed the growing number of Indigenous journalists working in mainstream news, Indigenous journalists’ experiences and practices in these contexts have rarely been canvassed. I analyse 11 in-depth interviews with practicing journalists in Australia to explore how they have their mediated their positions. I suggest that Indigenous journalists engage in a specifically Indigenous journalistic practice, informed by connections to place, community and culture. This can be understood as a contested practice of Indigenous sovereignty. It also highlights the racialised presumptions of news values, including notions of objectivity, authority and balance.

Alternative News Values in Community Citizen Journalism: The Case of PeoPo in Taiwan

ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore the news values of community citizen journalism and the behind journalistic identity. Drawing upon content analysis (N = 400) and semi-structured interviews (N = 12) with the reporters and in-house staff of a community citizen journalism platform, I argue that community citizen journalism follows alternative news values that deviate from the conventional norms and practices of mainstream media, prioritizing stories featuring ordinary people, a regional focus, and positive news. Given that community citizen journalists are most familiar with their surroundings, they can portray the reality of their community in a sensible, practical, and realistic way, using their words to serve the social empathy function and resonate with society. However, alternative news values can be seen as complementary to mainstream media rather than adversarial, providing a more comprehensive portrayal of reality. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Content Analysis of MAFINDO's Verified WhatsApp-Related Misinformation in Indonesia

This study seeks to contribute to the emerging studies on fact-checking practices in the Global South by focusing on Indonesia, one of the largest democratic countries in the world. An organization and grassroots movement called MAFINDO (Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia/the Indonesian Anti-Defamation Society) has been spearheading fact-checking practices in Indonesia by operating a website “turnbackhoax.id” containing fact-checked articles including on misinformation spread through WhatsApp. This research uses content analysis to examine a diverse array of WhatsApp-related misinformation verified by MAFINDO, spanning from July 2015 to July 2020. Our findings reveal that politics and everyday occurrences, or trivial issues top the charts of WhatsApp-related misinformation, with nearly half primarily existing in the text format. Notably, the originators of this misinformation remain unknown, and MAFINDO primarily utilizes news articles for verification. Furthermore, we assess the "fact-check worthiness" of WhatsApp misinformation comparing it to a traditional "worthiness" from the notion of news values and "public priority issues" and found that over half of the misinformation falls within these categories. We hope these findings can inform strategies and interventions aimed at addressing the propagation of misinformation within the confines of enclosed platforms such as WhatsApp.

Discursive Construction of Immigration Through the Lens of News Values in the Brexit Referendum

This paper aims to analyse how immigration was discursively constructed as a newsworthy topic in the UK’s quality papers’ campaign coverage of the Brexit referendum. To do so, a corpus of four major British broadsheets (The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, and Daily Telegraph) was collected and analysed with a combination of qualitative (Discursive News Values Analysis) and quantitative (Corpus Linguistics) methods. The results show that similar patterns of news values usage appeared in the corpus across the ideological lines (left-right) and Brexit stance (Leave-Remain). Although some dissociation strategies can be observed in the left-wing or Remain backing press, the statistically significant presence of similar linguistic pointers indicates that an anti-immigrant discourse was a salient part of the coverage, even permeating into the left-wing press and the Remain camp’s discourse. The adoption and repetition of such narratives could also, by themselves, lead to further acceptance and normalisation of the common anti-immigrant topoi in the broader discourse of Brexit in society, although more research is needed in this regard.