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An American approach to international news : help or hindrance?
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| Title | An American approach to international news : help or hindrance? |
| Author | Torlone, Lauren Joanne. |
| Date | 2009 |
| Subject (Keywords) | Journalism; Mass Communications |
| Note | Thesis (M.A.L.S.)--Georgetown University, 2009.; Includes bibliographical references. |
| University | Georgetown University
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| Department (Program) | Program of Liberal Studies, Masters dissertations, 2009. |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Text |
| Format | application/pdf
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| Abstract | The goal of this thesis was to delve into the wide variety of circumstances and factors that determine the ways mainstream American media develops and produces news stories for print and broadcast mediums. The thesis focused on a central problem, namely the bias that is omnipresent in American media, especially when it comes to stories of an international nature. In order to expose this bias (which largely revolves around a tendency to report only news that directly impacts Americans) a framework was created.; Research for an available framework that met the needs of this goal was not found, so an original framework was created to expose underlying factors that go into story creation in American journalism. The framework was comprised of four categories, and the overarching theme of ethics was incorporated into each category. The four categories (story, staff, corporate ownership and logistics) were decided upon because of the huge impact they have on the process news stories go through in order to be included in a television broadcast or print publication.; Each of the next three chapters of the thesis focused on a specific set of stories. The first category was stories about the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the second category examined stories about the 2005 London transit bombings, and the third category looked at stories comparing coverage of the 2004 tsunami to hurricane Katrina in 2005. In each chapter, the way stories were covered was examined, using the framework as a guide and as way to highlight different tactics and tools employed by members of American media.; The final chapters of the thesis looked at possible ethical solutions that could be incorporated into American journalism in an effort to keep journalists more honest. Specific cases of disgraced journalists were also discussed, as was the kind of treatment they received after it was discovered they had knowingly deceived readers of their work.; The thesis concluded with a look towards the future, utilizing examples from my own experiences working in national cable broadcast news outlets. The chapter concluded with ending thoughts on where emerging technology will take American journalism from here, as the capabilities of the internet and wireless communication continue to expand and greatly impact the way stories around the world are told. |
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