Radio-TV Journalism 1997 Abstracts
Radio-TV Journalism Division
Getting the Story Home: Reporting World War II for the Local Audience • Chris W. Allen, University of Nebraska at Omaha • Three distinctive reporting styles can be found in examining the stories that WHO Radio correspondent Jack Shelley wrote from the European Theater during the Battle of Bulge of World War II. The first is the extensive use of names of soldiers from the Middle West, communicating messages to families at home and telling a little about the soldiers’ experiences. The second style takes a longer view of the war, especially as the Western Front is disrupted by the German Advance. The third reporting style is commentary. The paper also takes a look at the audience’s reaction to the reports, and, as far as possible, the military’s view of such reporting.
Laws and Ethics Behind the Hidden and Intrusive Camera • Geri Alumit, Michigan • Network news stations and newsmagazines use the hidden and intrusive camera to uncover mayhem not able to be uncovered without the use of these clandestine techniques. The courts have heard lawsuits against the media that claim these techniques intrude on or invade privacy. Two lawsuits brought against television newsmagazines, one involving the hidden camera, the other the intrusive, will explore the rights of the media and the rights of the individuals captured on tape. This paper will also examine and suggest guidelines for the use of these stealthy techniques to gather the news.
Local Television and Radio News Congruence: Ownership Effects vs. Medium Effects • Douglas A. Barthlow, Suyong Choi, and Andrea Thomas, Georgia State • No Abstract available.
The Priming of the People: Television’s Influence on Public Perceptions of Presidential Candidates • Kim Bissell, Syracuse University • Since the 1960s, campaigning for President has taken on a new identity. The way Presidential candidates are presented on television has a lot to do with how the public subsequently formulates perceptions and opinions about that candidate. A telephone survey was conducted to asses public opinion about the influence of television. The results from this survey indicate there is a strong relationship between watching television news and being more candidate-centered than issue-oriented.
The Effect of Redundant Actualities on Recall of Radio News • Larry G. Burkum, University of Evansville • Research indicates broadcast news is quickly forgotten, suggesting presentation techniques might affect information recall. A mixed model 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design tested the effects of redundant auditory information, actualities, and a distracting secondary task on radio news recall and story appeal. The results indicate redundant auditory information improves recall but not news story appeal, actualities have no effect on recall or news story appeal, and a distracting secondary task decreases recall, and news story appeal.
Still Knowing Their Place: African Americans in Southeast TV Newscasts • Kenneth Campbell, Sonya Forte Duhe, Ernest Wiggins, South Carolina • The 1968 Kerner Commission report chastised the news media for inaccurate and misleading portrayals of African Americans, saying the media reported on them as if they were not a part of the viewing audience. The present study examines the portrayal of African Americans in Southern TV newscasts to assess to what degree progress has been made. The study concludes that while the Southern newscasts no longer ignore African Americans, there is an over-representation of blacks as criminal and whites as law enforcement officers, which perpetuates one of the most negative images of African Americans Ñ as criminals.
The Effects of Lead Story Positioning in Television Newscasts on Perception of Importance, Interest and Recall • Michael E. Cremedas, Dona Hayes, Syracuse University • This experiment focused on ways in which the placement of a story in the first (lead) position of a television newscast influenced three dependent variables: perception of story importance, level of interest in the story and ability to recall details of the story. Lead position accounted for significantly higher scores in all three of the dependent measures. The data demonstrate an agenda-setting effect for «spot» news stories. Furthermore, the findings suggest that TV news producers have primed viewers to readily accept the lead story as the most significant news of the day regardless of inherent news value.
Seven Dirty Words: Did They Help Define Indecency? • Jeff Demas, Ohio • This study explores the salience of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation et. al., also known as the «seven dirty words» case. The study attempts to answer the questions (1) Why was this case reviewed by the Supreme Court and (2) Did the decision really help define indecency? Interviews with the chief legal counsels of both parties, and research into publications of the time lend new insight to the breadth of the decision. The study also looks at the agenda of parties involved in taking this case to the Supreme Court.
Television Newsroom Training for the 21st Century • Sandra L. Ellis, Tennessee, Ann S. Jabro, Pennsylvania • This study attempts to clarify the status of continuing education in television newsrooms across the United States. A national survey of television news directors examined the ability of their employees to develop stories, the types of training available and areas of training in which news directors have interest The results suggest that television stations have relied too heavily on higher education to provide all the knowledge and skills TV journalists need to function in the profession.
Television News and Memory Distortion: Confidence in False Memories for Television News Stories • Julia R. Fox, Northern Illinois University • While recognition memory judgments about information presented in television news stories were more accurate than inaccurate, there was substantial evidence of memory distortions, and confidence in those false memories was quite high. Results are discussed in terms of memories as reconstructive decisions, based in part on judgments about how likely a memory is, and how willing people are to say they recognize information. Possible influences of distorted television news memories on personal and social decisions are also considered.
Hype Versus Substance in Campaign Coverage: Are the Television Networks Cleaning Up Their Act? • Julia R. Fox, Chris Goble, Northern Illinois University • A content analysis of the television networks’ weekday nightly newscasts during the final two weeks of the presidential election campaigns in 1988 and 1996 found a significant decrease in the amount of horse race coverage and a significant increase in the amount of issue coverage per campaign story from 1988 to 1996. However, there was less total campaign coverage during the final two weeks of the presidential election campaign in 1996 than in 1988.
The News of Your Choice Experiment in the Twin Cities: What Kind of Choice Did Viewers Get? • Kathleen A. Hansen, University of Minnesota, Joan Conners, Regis University • News of Your Choice was a collaboration between CBS-owned WCCO-TV/4 and KLGT-TV/23, a then-independent UHF station. This paper examines the «News of Your Choice» experiment and asks what the Channel 23 newscast added to the local television news market, and how Channel 4 designed its newscasts to take advantage of the innovation of «choice» and «interactivity». The study uses a content analysis of news broadcasts and an interview with WCCO’s then-general manager, and reports on content, story treatment, source use and overall newscast characteristics. The study finds that the extra time provided by the Channel 23 newscast was primarily filled with material from network SNG sources and human interest stories from outside the local geographic area.
Is it Really News? An Analysis of Video News Releases • Anthony Hunt, St. Cloud State University • Two pilot studies critically analyzed use of Video News Releases within television news in the Twin Cities market. While news bureaus denied using VNRs, the analysis of one week of news showed otherwise. It was very difficult to determine absolute use of VNRs, as open acknowledgment might affect station credibility. The author demonstrates the need for correct source recognition to encourage proper operation within the democratic process.
The Effects of Audience’s gender-based Expectations about Newscasters On News Viewing Satisfaction in A Collective Culture: South Korea • U-Ryong Kim, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, In-Suk Chung, Chungnam Sanup University, Hongsung-Up, Hongsung-Gun, Chungnam, Korea, Cheong-Yi Park, Michigan State University • This study focused on the effects of audienceÕs gender-based expectations about newscasters on news viewing satisfaction. It was theoretically supported by the integrated framework of the gratification and expectancy-value model, and the literature of collective culture; empirically tested by a nationwide survey in South Korea. This study concluded that, in relation to news viewing satisfaction, audiences expected that female newscasters would be both journalists and entertainers whereas they believed that male newscaster would be journalists rather than entertainers.
Political Candidate Sound Bites vs. Video Bites in Network TV News: Is How They Look More Important Than What They Say? • Dennis T. Lowry, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale • Stimulate materials for this study came from network TV newscasts of Campaign Ô92. Forty different bites from Bush, Quayle, Clinton, and Gore were presented in three different forms: audio only (no video), video only (no audio), and normal audio-video. The design was a totally randomized, totally counter-balanced, repeated measures design. After each bite, subjects filled out Ohanian’s 15-item celebrity endorsers instrument to measure perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Results indicated that «the eyes had it» Ñ i.e., how candidates looked was indeed more important than what they said.
Television Web Site Interactivity • Television Station Web Sites: Interactivity in News Stories • Ray Niekamp, Pennsylvania State University • A sample of 108 television stations were surveyed to learn the effect of interactive elements within news stories on television stations’ World Wide Web sites. Regression analysis was used to determine what interactive elements best predicted the amount of use of a site. Hot links within news stories which lead the news consumer to related information were the only interactive element having a significant effect on Web site use.
How Objective Were the Broadcast Networks and CNN During the Persian Gulf Crisis? • Robert A. Pyle, Winthrop University • During the Persian Gulf War media critics questioned the objectivity of some television journalists. Objectivity is a canon of journalistic practice, a view that the journalist should be an impartial observer of news events. The crisis in the Persian Gulf provided an ideal opportunity to observe simultaneous news coverage by ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN in gauging how fair and impartial the networks were in their coverage of the War. For the first time all four networks competed directly in their coverage on a round-the-clock basis. A content analysis analyzing anchor, reporter and analyst language reveal, for the most part, that all four networks presented war news in a fair and objective fashion.
Broadcasting World Wide Web Sites: Public Service or Self Service? • James W. Redmond, University of Memphis • Despite optimistic views of the promise of the Internet an overwhelming majority of broadcasters use the technology primarily for self-promotion. Nearly 1,500 radio and television World Wide Web sites were examined in this content analysis. A small percentage of stations were providing significant market area news or public information at the time of field data collection in June 1996. The results of this study indicate broadcasters consider the Internet, fundamentally, to be a promotional tool.
New Managers and Local TV New: A Case Study • Jim Upshaw, University of Oregon • New leaders usually take over TV news operations to increase viewership, but with what near-term effects on newscasts? Do new managers quickly reach goals matching their personal news priorities? A case study of one leadership team’s first year found increased emphasis on what people are talking about, greater anchor prominence, more features, continuing substantive news, and audience growth. Further research into new-manager values and strategies, organizational inertia and content change is proposed.
Print friendly
