Fundamental Issues in Journalism (1)

• Circular reporting


  Occurs when a piece of information is reported by multiple sources, but those sources all ultimately derive from the same initial source or a common origin --> creates the illusion of corroboration and independent verification when, in fact, the information is simply being repeated or echoed without any genuine independent confirmation
• What is joke media?

  Satirical or humorous content that are mistakenly picked up as serious news
• What is user-generated content (wikis)?

  Refers to any form of content, such as text, images, videos, reviews, or discussions, that is created and shared by users rather than professional creators or publishers, wikis are a specific type of platform where users collaboratively create and edit content
• What are the dangers behind user-generated content (wikis)?

  Unverified facts in wiki pages can circulate into news reporting (which later gets cited by the wiki page)
• What should we do to avoid false news?

  Avoid sensationalism, search for criticism of suspicious sources, trace original source
• What are other factors contributing to false news?

  Having various many-to-many communication systems, user generators’ and influencers’ inability to directly speak to the audience
• What is misinformation?

   Unintentionally disseminated false, misleading information
• What is disinformation?

  False or misleading information spread deliberately to deceive or manipulate people
• What percentage of Americans trust the media?

  41% of Americans trust media, lowest since '71 (Gallup poll)
• What are the impacts of distrust on journalism?

  Denunciation of journalism as a profession from higher office
• What actually ends up being "fake news"? (example)

  Politician not liking what’s being reported, a contentious relationship
• What does the culture of “fake news” do to journalism?

  Subscribing to truth or falsehood along political/ideological lines instead of on scientific grounds
• Why are some publications built like newspapers? (e.g., Denver Guardian)

  Monetize disinformation (e.g., a registered Democrat making sensational conspiracies about Hilary Clinton), defamation case bar can be high; also the plaintiff needs to take the case to trial (can be delicate when the plaintiff is a politician who thinks its better to do otherwise)
• What should we say instead of "fake news"?

  False news or disinformation
• Why is "fake news" a problem?

  Undermines credibility of journalism, makes people distrust all forms of media, gets used to attack journalists
• What is the belief-perseverance effect?


  Tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs even when presented with contradictory evidence
• What is the role of social media within this "fake news" problem?

  Social media companies (selling ads) in competition with media companies; social media companies taking journalists’ contents without paying
• What is an advertorial?

  Ad meant to look like a news article
• What is guerilla marketing?

  Unconventional marketing tactics that rely on creativity and surprise to promote a product or brand
• How can journalism inadvertently spread misinformation?

  With information laundering, bad sourcing, time crunches/deadlines, 24hr news cycle
• What is information laundering?

  Information laundering refers to the process of manipulating or disguising (unverified) information to make it appear legitimate or credible
• What is an exact definition of "fake news"?

  Factually inaccurate, famed demagogically, optimized for shareability
• What is the relationship between trust and authenticity?

  What is trending is not necessarily true, have to know the role that algorithm and metric statistics have
• How can you design media and information systems to make them less vulnerable to misinformation?

  Democratic promises associated with internet information flow, but this is only an ideal
• Why do companies have more incentive to push "fake news"?

  They receive money and incentivize virality
• What is computational propaganda?

  The use of algorithms and automated systems to manipulate public opinion and spread disinformation
• How can you fact-check?

  Consult the major players, look for primary sources, ask yourself: "is this too good to be true?", check links, don't trust your gut (ties to belief perseverance effect), never stop probing
• What is the bandwagon effect?

  Tendency to adopt beliefs or behaviors because many others are doing so
• What are the elements to look for in a news entity?

  Standards, money, track record, angle, scope, sources, author, yourself (your perspective)
• How does news become subjective?

  Becomes inherently dynamic (malleable) entity, shaped in a social environment, a journalist’s educational and personal background, workplace arrangements, interactions with the larger society over period of time
• What is social construction?

  Concept that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction (exists because humans agree that it exists), (media, notion, connotation placed and adopted by society)
• What are "news values"?

  Attributes that journalists believe make one event more "newsworthy" than another
• What are the two key elements of social construction of news?

  Humans and news values
• Eight news values

  Impact/magnitude, timeliness, proximity/locality, prominence, oddity/novelty, conflict, human interest, helpfulness/service
• What are some differences between NYT and local news outlets?

  NYT tends to report on women from a "cultural lens", leans towards Manhattan, international, national vs local news focus on women sports itself, more on Queens
• What are some of the "bad things" in news?

  News follows more of a negative definition (absence of ordinary), gradual shift to focusing on human interest stories, professional psychological harm from covering traumatic events (e.g., school shootings)
• What are some elements in the future of journalism?

  Successful “branding” creates “a new global tribe” that relates to people, so depends not so much on a publication’s managerial ability to keep itself alive, but people’s belief and trust in the content they pay for
• How can you define objectivity?

  Fact without political/personal bias, lack of favoritism, independent of human existence
• What is epistemology?

  The study of knowledge and how it is acquired
• What relationship does objectivity have with journalism?

  Gathering information in an empirical way, socially constructing the news, more access to information than ever before