«Тұрақты даму мақсатындағы халықаралық журналистиканы оқыту модельдері»
Television news as a driving force of tabloidization
жүктеу/скачать 4,38 Mb.
|
| Television news as a driving force of tabloidization
At first glance, the concepts of television and tabloid are different media forms; the former transmits images and sound, while the latter refers to a periodical publication. However, the contemporary news media are able to show a remarkable correlation between the two genres, and a new paradigm in journalism seems to be shifting from print format to broadcasting. Considering the current prospects and condition of broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, an increasing competition between different media and an enormous challenge posed by the Internet, television news perhaps can be interpreted as the main driving force of the phenomenon of tabloidization. As pointed out by Franklin (1997, p.4), the main distinctive features of tabloid news values in broadcast media are devoting “relatively little attention to politics economics and society and relatively much to diversions like sports, scandal and popular entertainment” (Sparks and Tulloch, 2000, p.10). Broadcast television bulletins are perhaps an adequate approach to analysing characteristics and the extent of the recent trends of tabloid journalism. It must be noted that attitudes towards tabloidization tends to vary with regard to countries which have significant differences in broadcasting systems. For instance, “in the American debate, tabloidization is routinely associated to the falling quality of television news” (Skovsgaard, 2014). As emphasised by Conboy (2006, p.7), if the British press was the pioneer in the format and regularity of tabloid newspapers, US news professionals would be a key player in prioritising tabloid values to television news. Looking at the example of Australia, Harrington (2008) points out a heavy reliance on the tabloid stories of crime and human interest type, emphasising that there is limited space for news and current affairs anywhere in Australian television. According to the reports of the Glasgow Media group, compared to American and Australian counterparts, UK television news between the years of 1975 and 2001, generally showed evidence of a slight movement towards ‘tabloidization’. However, the coverage of entertainment was more dominant, as the crime and human interest stories were not as prominent as they were in the British red masthead tabloids (Winston, 2012). Once again, this shows that the dynamics of ‘tabloidization’ of television news could be understood in a different context and condition since one country has a dominating public broadcasting system, whereas others are incompatible with it. Formulating such ‘tabloid strategies’ and adding ‘tabloid stories’ to television news, apparently has its explanations and rational justifications. One can argue that it is imperative for all media systems that concerns media owners most of which are financial. In this regard, Harrington (2008) maintains that the “capability of producing both news and money began to take hold in domain of television.” There are also prime examples of popular journalism in other aspects of broadcast media, as observed by Winston (2002), television news experienced a notable alteration regarding content, duration and presentational norms. As mentioned previously, switching from traditional news forms to tabloid style has generated a ‘value added’ news category, which is often weighted in favour of the dramatic, entertaining and spectacular (Meyer, 2003, p.12). It must be added that such new priorities and news values have not always been the subject of criticism of both media academics and practitioners. In this case, assumptions of Baum (2003) and Macdonald (1998) could be taken into account as a strong defence of tabloid journalism. They emphasise that “the tabloid style makes news less abstract, and more accessible and easier to comprehend.” (cited in Skovsgaard, 2014). Accordingly, the emergence of popular informational programs seems to satisfy both sides of the debate. In addition, a hybrid of serious, informative and lightweight coverage was seen as a considerable challenge to the normative standards and dimensions of tabloid journalism. In sum, broadcast media has moved beyond a mere telecommunication medium, and it has become quite difficult to tie tabloid journalism with the tabloid press. The editorial policy of television newsrooms, in order to gain significant viewership and due to profit orientation and commercial pressure, have undergone popularisation, sensationalising and personalising of its journalistic style. For some it is the trivialisation of the news agenda and ignoring journalistic ethics and principles, is down to the prioritisation or pursuit of revenue from the television market. It is important, therefore, to consider modern popular news forms or the value of tabloids in television as a powerful action which can develop and energise tabloid journalism in a vigorous way. жүктеу/скачать 4,38 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
|