Who gets to decide what the news is?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I remember discussing it in a political science class but I forgot who we decided gets to decide what the news is.

[blm]

1. Whoever commands the cameras and microphones with their storyline.

Not fair, at all, and that is why we have to be fully aware of how it is done and fight like hell to control any aspect of it we can to keep the truth and facts front and center.

Focus on what MATTERS MOST TO THIS COUNTRY - and shoot down the non stories and manufactured pout rages of the GOP.

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Who gets to decide what the news is?

you need to ask in what medium.... tv, print, internet, etc

The medium is the message is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.

[guillaumeb]

3. The same people who own Congress own the media.

Many sources have reported that 6 large companies own most of the media. I live in the Chicago area. The biggest newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, also owns about 30 regional/local papers.

The next question has to be who owns the media?

The same 1% who own everything else.

Violence and sex are news. Violent sex is REALLY news. Celebrities are news. Celebrities having violent sex are REALLY news.
Inequality is not news unless there is violence at a protest.


http://www.storyleak.com/graphic-6-corporations-own-90-percent-of-media/

[Android3.14]

4. In general

News should have at least one of these three characteristics:

1. It should affect a lot of people.
2. It serves a civic duty to inform
3. It is of an interesting enough nature to interest the average reader/viewer

The real problem is choosing what news to publish with limited space/time/budget. That's the editor's job.

[onenote]

6. Not sure I get the third characteristic.

So if a story doesn't interest the "average" reader/viewer (however that is determined), its not "news." I can imagine a lot of arcane stories appearing in specialized publications, websites etc that might not interest the average viewer; if those stories aren't 'news' what are they?
And what difference does it make whether something is classified as "news"?

[Android3.14]

10. Man bites dog stories are the third characteristic

There are others characteristics, depending on which editor or journalism instructor you reference, but these work for my crew. In this case, "average reader" is the population which a news organization serves. For example, a story about someone using crank case oil to help a dog recover from a bad case of mange would be of interest to the average reader of Junkyard Dog Fancier Quarterly, but would perhaps not be such a good choice for Left-handed Lesbian Lawyers Weekly.

The best stories are those that combine all three characteristics.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. I remember that very question having been brought to discussion

but I do not recall what class !

I recall question upon question of the type professors either cannot or will not offer answers to and or comments.
Because of the powers that be perhaps !!!

So who are those who's who decide what is or isn't allowed ? What they who ever those they's are call print worthy,or what is committed to paper !

But of course media control comes into the discussion because it just must.

Hard it must be for some to imagine given freedom of the press and constitutional law that the media is indeed governed through
operational perimeters.

Less worldly experience it is indeed a tough question.
Hard perhaps to except that much or most real news falls on the outside of those perimeters and so the news as it is isn't really there for you.

About all you can do is take out of what you can use or that which is noteworthy and shit can the rest. You might say it's always been that way !

The Red Coats are coming !
Chicken little announces the sky is falling !
J. Edger Hoover arrests John Dillinger public enemy number one himself.

[BubbaFett]

7. Our owners

of course

[Maedhros]

8. Halliburton. [n/t]

[Spazito]

9. These days it's the advertisers....

ratings, ratings, ratings and nothing but ratings.

[hunter]

11. Me. I'm blissfully disconnected from television and radio "news" propaganda.

I read our local paper, and I briefly glance over a few international news sites every day.

Whenever I encounter mass media "news" blather in real life, or here on DU, it's cringe-worthy obvious where it's coming from.

Turn off the damned television! That's not news.