Date of Award

4-2018

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Jeffrey McCall

Second Advisor

Kevin Howley

Third Advisor

Andy Cullison

Abstract

News media are in turmoil as the public is less informed and more polarized than ever. This issue dates back to the late 1970s, and early 1980s when corporations took over news organizations and began to demand profits out of them. This changed news from a public good to a business. As this business model began to develop, the news industry experienced layoffs, a decrease in quality, increase in quantity, and enhanced importance placed on advertising. The current news is delegitimized and polarized, with citizens being able to choose from where they get their news, thus eliminating shared experiences among the public. This is detrimental to democracy as respected media is required to keep institutions of government in place and inform the public. News must regain its’ position of authority and have its’ purpose be restored in informing the public, not making money. Only then will citizens be able to trust news as a legitimate source, and news can continue its’ role of protecting democracy. Local news is of particular importance as most policy changes happen at the local level and it is the main news source for citizens (Gallup). To support the assertion that corporate owners control media outlets at the expense of local news, this study will examine local news in one market, Chicago, across four different stations and owners to establish if the before mentioned factors are present, or not, in these local news stations. This will be done by breaking down the 6:00 nightly newscast, recording how much time is allotted for each segment and story, as well as doing a qualitative content analysis on the individual stories themselves.ews media are in turmoil as the public is less informed and more polarized than ever. This issue dates back to the late 1970s, and early 1980s when corporations took over news organizations and began to demand profits out of them. This changed news from a public good to a business. As this business model began to develop, the news industry experienced layoffs, a decrease in quality, increase in quantity, and enhanced importance placed on advertising. The current news is delegitimized and polarized, with citizens being able to choose from where they get their news, thus eliminating shared experiences among the public. This is detrimental to democracy as respected media is required to keep institutions of government in place and inform the public. News must regain its’ position of authority and have its’ purpose be restored in informing the public, not making money. Only then will citizens be able to trust news as a legitimate source, and news can continue its’ role of protecting democracy. Local news is of particular importance as most policy changes happen at the local level and it is the main news source for citizens (Gallup). To support the assertion that corporate owners control media outlets at the expense of local news, this study will examine local news in one market, Chicago, across four different stations and owners to establish if the before mentioned factors are present, or not, in these local news stations. This will be done by breaking down the 6:00 nightly newscast, recording how much time is allotted for each segment and story, as well as doing a qualitative content analysis on the individual stories themselves.

Comments

Honor Scholar Thesis

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