My conclusion
This study proposed to explore whether there is a media reality evident across different cultures in an era of media globalisation. To do so, it examines international news values in the press coverage of four globalisation summits across four different countries. Through this cross-cultural empirical observation, I argue that modern news production is carried out as an outcome of a triad--a news prism--involving media, governments and INGOs/NGOs. I suggest that this news prism exists universally due to structural integration in media globalisation. However, news media retain their editorial diversity, which is propelled by national interests.
Our case set out to follow Nordenstreng’s direction in performing a content analysis of news to observe international media performance. It is based on fulfilling two objectives. First, it is studying press content across four different cultures to observe constancy in news values in international journalism. And second, it is looking to evaluate the way media frame protest movements in society to investigate the existence of a ‘media reality’. In light of the detailed objectives set out in chapter 4, we feel the findings have justified our conclusions.
In Chapter 1, we studied the influence of globalisation on the media industry. We observed that media globalisation is a term applied to increasing trends of ownership concentration, liberalisation and consumption of international media. Globalisation emphasises economic integration across boundaries and media globalisation reflects this pattern on a purely structural level. However it raises questions about national cultures and identity, noted in literature as the global/local conflict. The impact of media globalisation and national media response to it is a new dimension in communication studies, one that needs to be addressed through extensive empirical research. Our study is a small step towards achieving this feat.
In chapter 2, we conducted an in-depth review of global news trends. We presented a theoretical evaluation of what sources shape our news agenda, citing major literary criticism on news influences. We observed that managing and producing global news content is a sophisticated operation influenced by internal, organisational and external factors. We touched upon contemporary communication concepts such as media framing and media reality, which influence public discourse. Critically evaluating the ideals set forth in journalistic standards, our assessment was that the grounds for questioning media reality over what it promotes as an objective reality appear relevant
In chapter 3, we take the debate of media objectivity further by addressing the presence of mainstream media criticism in contemporary communication literary and professional circles. The argument goes that news content is under fire for ideological bias and encouraging infotainment, which endangers responsible journalism. To illustrate our concern, we assess the rise of interest in the political economy of mass communication in recent years and the growth of alternative journalism on the Internet. However, our assessment is that this criticism has gone unanswered and unexplained by scholars and industry professionals. We emphasise the need to respond to criticism of media’s performance and stress on empirical research as a solution.
In chapter 4, we review the salient features of our research methodology. Describing the research objectives and technique, we elaborate on the steps taken to draw a sample for our content analysis. Given the diverse nature of our sampling method, it was imperative that each of the variables employed in our quantitative analysis was argued and objectively presented for the reader’s deliberation. We justify the means employed to conduct a comparative quantitative study of news content covering two annual globalisation summits across two years and point out some of the problems the study encountered.
Chapter 5 illustrates and evaluates the findings of our quantitative content analysis. It notes the structural and editorial trends in news coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits.
We began with a comparative analysis of the structural similarities and differences in the news coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits. Just as we found a global integration of media industries in our literary review, we conclude that news formats are increasingly becoming similar. This is reflected in the preference of journalists for straight news, their increasing appetite for comment and feature over the years and the lack of interviews from the coverage of the summits. Another point of interest for this structural convergence is the dates when coverage peaked during the four summits.
We then attempt to analyse the similarities and differences in the interplay of news sources on content during the coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits across time and culture. Although this part of the quantitative analysis proved daunting from a research perspective due to the diversity of actors involved, it offers an interesting insight into the very diverse nature of what makes news. News sources and their domination of the news prism vary with each event and it is worth noting how this variation spreads over time. From an outstanding journalistic hegemony over news sources in 1999, we see that the margin of corporate and antiglobalisation sources has increased in 2001. This increase is not tremendous, however, since it has been obvious enough to reflect in our quantitative analysis we can say it is significant. Mainstream media have in effect responded to criticism of their poor performance in covering the WTO 1999 summit from a narrow perspective and this trend is evident in the diversity of the news sources quoted in the coverage.
As part of our analyses, we were interested in media framing of the actors involved in the four events. We evaluated the summits to see what is the direction of the coverage dedicated to the antiglobalisation movement and the corporate sector and what aspects interested media in these actors. Our findings dispel the notion that a corporate hegemony exists in the media circles and that the antiglobalisation movement is sidelined completely because of this control. With the exception of the WEF 2001 coverage, the depiction of the antiglobalisation movement is balanced at all other events. In contrast, the coverage of the corporate sector has been moderately negative in all events sans the WEF 2000 summit. The overall coverage of the antiglobalisation movement has been marginal compared to the corporate sector and we associate this trend to the movement’s lack of interaction with the media, which has grown since 1999.
One of the interesting aspects of this study was that it not only noted news content variations across time, it looks at news in four different cultural settings. Our four case studies, The Guardian from the UK, NYT from the US, DAWN from Pakistan and The Hindu from India, each bore several similarities in their approach towards covering globalisation in the shadow of the WTO and WEF summits. For instance, all four newspapers devote substantial coverage to the performance of their state representatives and their statements at the summits. At the same time our quantitative findings may not sufficiently reflect the distinctive flavour of each newspaper’s coverage. The Guardian’s coverage of the antiglobalisation movement is by far the most balanced and it regularly features columns from leading activists. DAWN relies on news agency reports for most of its coverage however it uses a multiple feeds such as The International Herald Tribune, Interpress Services, Christian Science Monitor, and The Guardian News Service. The Hindu covers the summits from a strong North vs. South approach. This is not to say that such an approach has introduced bias in its reporting rather we mean it in a critical complimentary way. Particular credit goes to its correspondent C. Rammanohar Reddy who not only focuses on the developments inside the auditorium but comments on the performance of delegates, journalists, and activists outside the arena as well. Reddy’s style is distinctively contemporary and we recommend that as a model for other journalists reporting on globalisation.
Finally, we conclude that a diverse media reality prevails across different cultures in an era of media globalisation. We have demonstrated that media dominates the news prism, which it shares with other actors namely governments and INGOs/NGOs. There is negligible allegiance borne by media to governments and NGO/INGOs. Dominating the spectrum gives journalists the space to frame the identity and purpose of the actors. This is evident from the labels they associate with the actors, the selection of pictorial content used in their coverage, and the behavioural or policy aspects showcased in the media. On a broader scale, the amount of coverage given to each actor can also prove detrimental to the importance audiences associate with them in the public discourse.
Further Proposed Research
To evaluate our findings on media’s reporting of globalisation, we recommend a qualitative content analysis of press and online TV news sites over a period of four years. Globalisation has cropped up as an issue in the last decade or so and while the public has grown accustomed to its use as a buzzword, the media has been lacking in its contextual coverage of the distinctive themes underlying the concept.
To evaluate our findings on media framing reality further, we propose that a study be conducted comparing the coverage of the summits printed in the media and that available through the antiglobalisation and corporate websites. This would help us identify exactly what areas are being manipulated or ignored by journalists when they cover a mediated event such as an international summit.
To evaluate our findings on media globalisation, we recommend that more elaborate empirical research in the form of comparative content analysis be conducted. Alternative avenues such as the internet are drawing readers from around the world because they offer a fresh perspective on issues that concern the world at large and mainstream media--particularly the press--will find it difficult to maintain their monopoly unless they respond to the criticism being generated within these avenues.
This study proposed to explore whether there is a media reality evident across different cultures in an era of media globalisation. To do so, it examines international news values in the press coverage of four globalisation summits across four different countries. Through this cross-cultural empirical observation, I argue that modern news production is carried out as an outcome of a triad--a news prism--involving media, governments and INGOs/NGOs. I suggest that this news prism exists universally due to structural integration in media globalisation. However, news media retain their editorial diversity, which is propelled by national interests.
Our case set out to follow Nordenstreng’s direction in performing a content analysis of news to observe international media performance. It is based on fulfilling two objectives. First, it is studying press content across four different cultures to observe constancy in news values in international journalism. And second, it is looking to evaluate the way media frame protest movements in society to investigate the existence of a ‘media reality’. In light of the detailed objectives set out in chapter 4, we feel the findings have justified our conclusions.
In Chapter 1, we studied the influence of globalisation on the media industry. We observed that media globalisation is a term applied to increasing trends of ownership concentration, liberalisation and consumption of international media. Globalisation emphasises economic integration across boundaries and media globalisation reflects this pattern on a purely structural level. However it raises questions about national cultures and identity, noted in literature as the global/local conflict. The impact of media globalisation and national media response to it is a new dimension in communication studies, one that needs to be addressed through extensive empirical research. Our study is a small step towards achieving this feat.
In chapter 2, we conducted an in-depth review of global news trends. We presented a theoretical evaluation of what sources shape our news agenda, citing major literary criticism on news influences. We observed that managing and producing global news content is a sophisticated operation influenced by internal, organisational and external factors. We touched upon contemporary communication concepts such as media framing and media reality, which influence public discourse. Critically evaluating the ideals set forth in journalistic standards, our assessment was that the grounds for questioning media reality over what it promotes as an objective reality appear relevant
In chapter 3, we take the debate of media objectivity further by addressing the presence of mainstream media criticism in contemporary communication literary and professional circles. The argument goes that news content is under fire for ideological bias and encouraging infotainment, which endangers responsible journalism. To illustrate our concern, we assess the rise of interest in the political economy of mass communication in recent years and the growth of alternative journalism on the Internet. However, our assessment is that this criticism has gone unanswered and unexplained by scholars and industry professionals. We emphasise the need to respond to criticism of media’s performance and stress on empirical research as a solution.
In chapter 4, we review the salient features of our research methodology. Describing the research objectives and technique, we elaborate on the steps taken to draw a sample for our content analysis. Given the diverse nature of our sampling method, it was imperative that each of the variables employed in our quantitative analysis was argued and objectively presented for the reader’s deliberation. We justify the means employed to conduct a comparative quantitative study of news content covering two annual globalisation summits across two years and point out some of the problems the study encountered.
Chapter 5 illustrates and evaluates the findings of our quantitative content analysis. It notes the structural and editorial trends in news coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits.
We began with a comparative analysis of the structural similarities and differences in the news coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits. Just as we found a global integration of media industries in our literary review, we conclude that news formats are increasingly becoming similar. This is reflected in the preference of journalists for straight news, their increasing appetite for comment and feature over the years and the lack of interviews from the coverage of the summits. Another point of interest for this structural convergence is the dates when coverage peaked during the four summits.
We then attempt to analyse the similarities and differences in the interplay of news sources on content during the coverage of the annual WTO and WEF summits across time and culture. Although this part of the quantitative analysis proved daunting from a research perspective due to the diversity of actors involved, it offers an interesting insight into the very diverse nature of what makes news. News sources and their domination of the news prism vary with each event and it is worth noting how this variation spreads over time. From an outstanding journalistic hegemony over news sources in 1999, we see that the margin of corporate and antiglobalisation sources has increased in 2001. This increase is not tremendous, however, since it has been obvious enough to reflect in our quantitative analysis we can say it is significant. Mainstream media have in effect responded to criticism of their poor performance in covering the WTO 1999 summit from a narrow perspective and this trend is evident in the diversity of the news sources quoted in the coverage.
As part of our analyses, we were interested in media framing of the actors involved in the four events. We evaluated the summits to see what is the direction of the coverage dedicated to the antiglobalisation movement and the corporate sector and what aspects interested media in these actors. Our findings dispel the notion that a corporate hegemony exists in the media circles and that the antiglobalisation movement is sidelined completely because of this control. With the exception of the WEF 2001 coverage, the depiction of the antiglobalisation movement is balanced at all other events. In contrast, the coverage of the corporate sector has been moderately negative in all events sans the WEF 2000 summit. The overall coverage of the antiglobalisation movement has been marginal compared to the corporate sector and we associate this trend to the movement’s lack of interaction with the media, which has grown since 1999.
One of the interesting aspects of this study was that it not only noted news content variations across time, it looks at news in four different cultural settings. Our four case studies, The Guardian from the UK, NYT from the US, DAWN from Pakistan and The Hindu from India, each bore several similarities in their approach towards covering globalisation in the shadow of the WTO and WEF summits. For instance, all four newspapers devote substantial coverage to the performance of their state representatives and their statements at the summits. At the same time our quantitative findings may not sufficiently reflect the distinctive flavour of each newspaper’s coverage. The Guardian’s coverage of the antiglobalisation movement is by far the most balanced and it regularly features columns from leading activists. DAWN relies on news agency reports for most of its coverage however it uses a multiple feeds such as The International Herald Tribune, Interpress Services, Christian Science Monitor, and The Guardian News Service. The Hindu covers the summits from a strong North vs. South approach. This is not to say that such an approach has introduced bias in its reporting rather we mean it in a critical complimentary way. Particular credit goes to its correspondent C. Rammanohar Reddy who not only focuses on the developments inside the auditorium but comments on the performance of delegates, journalists, and activists outside the arena as well. Reddy’s style is distinctively contemporary and we recommend that as a model for other journalists reporting on globalisation.
Finally, we conclude that a diverse media reality prevails across different cultures in an era of media globalisation. We have demonstrated that media dominates the news prism, which it shares with other actors namely governments and INGOs/NGOs. There is negligible allegiance borne by media to governments and NGO/INGOs. Dominating the spectrum gives journalists the space to frame the identity and purpose of the actors. This is evident from the labels they associate with the actors, the selection of pictorial content used in their coverage, and the behavioural or policy aspects showcased in the media. On a broader scale, the amount of coverage given to each actor can also prove detrimental to the importance audiences associate with them in the public discourse.
Further Proposed Research
To evaluate our findings on media’s reporting of globalisation, we recommend a qualitative content analysis of press and online TV news sites over a period of four years. Globalisation has cropped up as an issue in the last decade or so and while the public has grown accustomed to its use as a buzzword, the media has been lacking in its contextual coverage of the distinctive themes underlying the concept.
To evaluate our findings on media framing reality further, we propose that a study be conducted comparing the coverage of the summits printed in the media and that available through the antiglobalisation and corporate websites. This would help us identify exactly what areas are being manipulated or ignored by journalists when they cover a mediated event such as an international summit.
To evaluate our findings on media globalisation, we recommend that more elaborate empirical research in the form of comparative content analysis be conducted. Alternative avenues such as the internet are drawing readers from around the world because they offer a fresh perspective on issues that concern the world at large and mainstream media--particularly the press--will find it difficult to maintain their monopoly unless they respond to the criticism being generated within these avenues.
posted by Zunaira at 3/27/2003 07:30:00 PM
