Robert A. Hackett

Decline of a paradigm? Bias and objectivity in news media studies

This essay outlines emerging empirical, methodological, and epistemolog‐ical challenges to several key assumptions associated with conventional research on news bias. These assumptions are: (1) the news can and ought to be objective, balanced and a reflection of social reality; (2) the political attitudes of journalists or editorial decision‐makers are a major determinant of news bias; (3) bias in news content can be detected with existing reading methods; (4) the most important form of bias is partisanship. It is concluded that the concepts of structured orientation and ideological effectiv‐ity are more fruitful than that of partisan bias, and that the concepts of bias and objectivity ought themselves to be objects of research rather than evaluative standards.

Democratic media activism through the lens of social movement theory

This article considers how we are to understand democratic media activism, which has recently burgeoned in Canada, the UK and the USA. What is its political significance and potential? Is it a new social movement, a new style of politics cutting across movements, or are new concepts needed? Drawing illustratively upon interviews with media activists, notably in Vancouver, we explore insights offered by social movement theory - including resource mobilization formulations and the new social movement theories of Melucci, Habermas, Cohen and Arato, and Fraser. While all these traditions offer valuable insights, media activism reveals limitations in existing conceptualizations. It has some of the characteristics of a movement, but lacks a distinct collective identity or niche within movement ecology. It may be destined to be a boundary-transgressing nodal point for other movements, articulating a coherent project for radical democracy, rather than a movement-for-itself.

Reporting Conflict: New Directions in Peace Journalism

and the other Gulf Cooperation Council member countries have continued to treat the United States as a necessary factor in their security and economic calculus, while dismissing the normative aspects of its agenda as merely a reflection of US misjudgement of the realities of the region. Paul Williams discusses how Turkish diplomatic and political trends have called Obama’s early advocacy of a supposed ‘model partnership’ into question. The third theme, following from the others, is that the Obama approach has also come at a substantial cost to the image, credibility and influence of the United States among political audiences across the region. Luca Anceschi and Akbarzadeh, for example, outline how security imperatives in Central Asia have been emphasised by the Obama administration ahead of social, political and legal reform, and at the risk of losing its moral appeal. In the narrowest of terms, and at least for the moment, Obama has arguably fashioned a more pragmatic US foreign policy agenda in regard to the region. Excellent chapters by Charles Dunne on Iraq, Ken Menkhaus on Somalia, Touqir Hussain on Pakistan and William Maley on Afghanistan all address the complicated connections between state and society, and underline the gravity of the challenges ahead for the countries and US policy makers alike. While counselling firmly against disengagement, their analyses strengthen the case for caution and a prudent lowering of US ambition in situations of ongoing fragility and limited US influence. Caution also makes political sense at a time when Obama is facing an uphill battle to win a second term in office. But Obama’s choice of policy settings has also come at a time when irreversible drivers of change are altering the political climate of the region in ways which were inconceivable a generation ago. By accepting the predominance of state power in framing its policies, and yet refraining from deploying its own influence among state actors to maximum effect* for reasons ranging from political expediency to institutional and policy paralysis*the United States may have placed insufficient weight on shaping the values and experiences of the new generation who will emerge amidst the ashes of old regimes. The initial excitement and optimism of the Arab Spring may soon become a distant memory for many, but demands for popular empowerment and government accountability will continue to be drawn upon by the current generation of political activists. The part played by the United States in support of those demands*with regard to Palestine and other major political issues, and with regard to capacity-building*will continue to shape the Middle East’s political culture. Akbarzadeh’s introductory essay warns, perceptively, that signs of US resignation to intransigence and authoritarianism risk engendering perceptions that the United States may be irrelevant to the region’s future. For sound reasons of US national interest, therefore, the battle of values is there to be won, not abandoned.

Taking Back the Media: Notes on the Potential for a Communicative Democracy Movement

Of all contemporary popular struggles, the struggle to democratize the communication media is arguably one of the most important and least recognized. In this article, I first argue for the importance of placing media democratization higher on the progressive agenda, and briefly sketch its normative commitments. Then I explore both the potential social and political obstacles to, and bases for, a media democracy movement, concluding with a few strategic suggestions.

Is media democratization a social movement

As media markets are becoming globalized, as the public service ethos is displaced by hyper‐commercialism, and as media ownership falls into the hands of fewer and fewer multinational conglomerates, the prospects for the media system supporting a progressive and democratic political culture are becoming dimmer. Many people in the U.S. and other countries know the limitations of the commercialized corporate media, and the systematic ways the media system blocks progressive social change—progressive in the broad sense of a project of sharing material wealth, cultural status and political power. In response, a new kind of social movement may be emerging—a movement that seeks to transform the media themselves.

Tracing Corporate Influences on Press Content: a summary of recent NewsWatch Canada Research

Drawing from Shoemaker and Reeses hierarchical model of influences on media content, this paper summarizes content analyses by NewsWatch Canada on different dimensions of potential corporate influence on Canadian newspaper content: (1) the offsetting tendencies of content rationalization and duplication in chain papers; (2) newspaper coverage of their own parent companies, and of the media industry; (3) the influence of newspaper editorial positions on news coverage; (4) some potential impacts of advertising; (5) potential double standards related to politics and social class. While the research is exploratory, there is evidence of systemic corporate influence, particularly on the second, third and fifth dimensions.

Journalistic objectivity and social change

Despite constant critique, objectivity remains part of the defining ethos of North American journalism. Within the dominant model of commercial journalism and concentrated corporate media power, journalistic objectivity is viewed as essential to democratic self‐government; the news media provide factual and impartial information to allow citizens to make independent and rational decisions. The current crisis of liberal democracy, however, calls into question the adequacy of news objectivity as a model for democratic communication. Rather than serving as a cornerstone for democracy, objectivity has in many respects contributed to its current crisis. It sometimes unwittingly serves to reinforce undemocratic or destructive power relations and to promote questionable values that instead should be subjected to close scrutiny. It has important “conservatizing” implications, and impedes progressive social change.

Journalism, Climate Communication and Media Alternatives

Recent scholarship on the media’s response to climate change has eagerly suggested a revamping of the traditional tools of journalism in order to engage and inform audiences. This chapter argues that the proposals currently being put forward are too modest in their demands and scope, failing to respond with the urgency climate change demands and woefully unequipped to combat the anti-environmental logics of commercial news media, which are corporate-owned, dependent on advertising, and therefore inherently consumerist. Instead, this chapter proposes a reframing of climate politics by activist organisations, new and integrated journalistic paradigms, and renewed emphasis on the crucial role of alternative media.

The Political Economy of Communication: Rethinking and Renewal

the political economy of communication rethinking and renewal. molecular genetics of bacteria 4th edition snyder finding our way patterns of inheritance test answers access lists workbook teachers edition 11 laminator service manuals acronis 11 user guide the rhetorical tradition readings from classical times to present patricia bizzell suzuki m50 service manual agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits engineering document the quality control h chemistry ph and poh calculations answer key hunger games answers fluid mechanics mcgraw hill solutions manual automotive technology answer key take the bully by the horns stop unethical uncooperative or unpleasant people from running and r 2005 toyota celica engine acura tsx owners manual 2011 homeopathic medicine for women an alternative approach to gynecological health care engine compartment of a 2002 toyota corolla stoichiometry gizmo assessment answers poor little dead girls lizzie friend how to live in old age 1st edition ford 5 0 engine sensor diagram pregnancy week by guide account interview question and answer pixl maths papers higher mark scheme section 37 3 the respiratory system ls3 engine problems free range kids how to raise safe self reliant children without going nuts with worry the new americans the complete idiots guide to music theory michael miller physics transparency answers introduction to heat transfer incropera 5th edition solution manual engineering project cost estimate excel template html and css 6th edition tutorial 4 case 2 4050 tire changer coats troebleshooting guide materials testing for the metal forming industry british standard guide to stock control notes mastering science workbook 2b answer chapter 11 krugman international economics 9th edition test bank solutions for fin704 management accounting assignments fundamentals of investing 11th edition solutions hp g6 manual business management 1a exam paper setting mms manual sony ericsson k750i canon eos digital solution disk download true singapore ghost stories book 1 russell lee intracranial hypertension factoring trinomials a 1 worksheet answers subaru outback manual transmission fluid

Structuring the hierarchy of dissent

What role do the media in a liberal democracy play when their nation is at war? Wars present a potential contradiction for journalism. On the one hand, the press presents itself as an independent critic, an objective narrator, a neutral form. On the other hand, most news media are embedded organizationally within the framework of particular nation‐states. Their routine reliance on powerful, official sources yields news that often amplifies the dominant definitions of political issues. Audiences themselves expect news that puts their own nation in a favorable light. During crises, perceived threats to national interests against a backdrop of escalating risks may generate strong pressure on the media to acquiesce in the national governments response. Does it matter? Do mass media influence the prospects for international peace? Surely, the days when a press baron such as William Randolph Hearst could incite the 1898 Spanish‐American War by concocting tales of atrocities are behind us. Or are they? Media ac...