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How Does the Media Work?
How do journalists work? What are they interested in? What pressures and circumstances influence their work. Learning the answers to these questions can help us understand reporters and how to communicate with them effectively.Contents
Ideals
Searching for the Truth
It may be hard to believe, having read so many mistaken articles, but journalists are looking for the truth. However, their ability to reach the truth is more limited than what we would expect. This is not a reason for dispair. We simply have to change our expectations. Take responsibility and give reporters the information they need. In search for "the truth" journalists look for substantiated claims. These have a greater chance of getting published. Substantiate your claims by quoting statistics, articles or figures of authority.Ethics
Codes of ethics for the media are not usually enforced, since they are not binding. What happens when a reporter violates the code depends on the degree of offense, and on how much the reporter is valued by the employer. However, the codes are useful to cite when interacting with the media. Fairness is an example for an ethic code relevant to us. Journalists have to be fair. Unless appearing in an editorial or personal column, the report has to be balanced and objective. This means that they have to get both sides of the story. Reporters can be biased since some may be too sensitive when it comes to stories that involve death and human tragedy (at least for the survivors). This prevents them from being objective, and covering all sides of the story. There are several written codes of media ethics on the web:- The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) code of ethics : http://spj.org/ethics_code.asp .
- The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) code of ethics: http://www.missouri.edu/%7Ejourvs/rtcodes.html .
- Ethicnet, a databank for European codes of journalism ethics: http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/ .
Circumstances
The ideals are what reporters should aspire to. Circumstances come in their way.Workload
Reporters have deadlines, so if you are committed to doing the interview then do not keep them waiting too long. Reporters are typically working on several articles simultaniously. All of these have deadlines. The amount of depth and research the reporter can perform on all of these articles is limited. The way the reporter handles this workload is by performing interviews with people or experts who are familiar with the topic. Reporters have limited time to read books, articles or web sites which relate to the article, even though it would seem that they should. However, the amount of material available is typically such that the reporter cannot be expected to read all of it. When you are interviewed, you are the expert. You can note various references which substantiate your claims, but do not expect the reporter to read those references. If you really want the reporter to know what a reference is saying, summarize it in brief, and tell the reporter.Limitations of the Media : Time and Space
Any form of media limits the amount of material which can be presented. In the press one is limited by space, and on radio/TV the limit is time. Frequently, reporters have an idea of how the story will look, and according to this, they plan the questions they will ask. If we do nothing but answer the questions then the small space allocated for our point of view will contain what the reporter was looking for. In this case, the reporter is in control. This points out to a different approach to interviews. Instead of just answering the questions well, we need to take control of the interview. Similar to the way the reporter has a preconcieved idea of what he wants to hear from us, we should have a preconcieved idea of what we want to say to him. Typically the two do not coincide. Our job is to communicate our message. We need to take control.What is Newsworthy?
As a compromise between the ideals, circumstances and the need to make money, the following are news stories which editors are more likely to be interested in. Clash stories involve a catastrophe, crisis, conflict or crime. For example, an exceptional personal crisis in the life of an asher and how it resolved, or conflict between an asher and the mental health establishment. Human interest stories would include sex, money, relations, emotions, celebrities, etc... For example, a marriage of two ashers, or a celebrity committing suicide. Finally, stories which describe Change, for example, how internet forums have caused changed in the lives of its participants, or how their underlying culture is evolving.Structure
The structure of mass media organizations is useful when you want to know who you are taking to and to whom to complain.Radio and TV
The General Manager hires the News Director who is responsible for everything in the news department. The Assignment Editor decides who will cover what. He decides what should be covered, but doesn't have much to say about the quality of the reports. The Producer produces a newscast, i.e. a single show. He decides which stories will be aired and in what order. Larger stations may have an Executive Producer, who supervises other producers. He might be responsible for accuracy and fairness. Reporters and photographers get instructions from the producers and assignment editors, but only the news director can decide to fire them, or take any other disciplinary action. The USA networks have additional structure, they have regional bureaus. A network crew may include the correspondent, a field producer, photographer, and sound technician. In case you are interviewed by a network crew, find out from which bureau the crew is from, and the name of the field producer, in case you want to complain. The bureau has a chief which you can contact in case you want to contact the field producer or correspondent yet they are not available.Newspapers
The General Manager or Publisher are at the top of the hierarchy, but they are usually in charge of the financial operation of the newspaper. The Managing Editor (or Executive Editor) is the top editor in charge of the news. There may be many other editors, depending on the subjects covered by the newspaper. The editorial page may have an autonomous Editorial Page Editor. A Features Editor would be in charge of long-term reporting.