News

==News consumption==
Over the centuries, commentators on newspapers and society have repeatedly observed widespread human interest in news.<ref name=Stephens13 /><ref>Salmon, ''The Newspaper and the Historian'' (1923), pp. 1–2, 31.</ref> Elite members of a society's political and economic institutions might rely on news as one limited source of information, for the masses, news represents a relatively exclusive window onto the operations by which a society is managed.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), pp. 93–94. "Because political events and issues in modern societies typically take place in specialized locations, most citizens experience politics vicariously. […] For elites, information from the media becomes just one of many sources of data. Because of their political involvement and interest and their vast base of prior knowledge, elites treat media coverage as foreground, or sources of new and/or specific information. […] Nonelites, on the other hand, are not so interested in politics, and they have relatively little prior knowledge about political issues. For nonelites, media coverage is not only a source of new data, but their only source of information."</ref>

Regular people in societies with news media often spend a lot of time reading or watching news reports.<ref>Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), p. 5.</ref> Newspapers became significant aspects of national and literary culture—as exemplified by James Joyce's ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'', which derives from the newspapers of 16 June (and thereabouts), 1904, and represents the newspaper office itself as a vital part of life in Dublin.<ref>R. Brandon Kershner, ''The Culture of Joyce's Ulysses''; Palgrave Macmillan, 2010; see Chapter Five, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yc7HAAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA79 Newspapers and Periodicals: Endless Dialogue]". Also see: James Broderick, "'Give Us This Day Our Daily Press': Journalism in the Life and Art of James Joyce", Dissertation accepted at City University of New York, 1999.</ref>

A 1945 study by sociologist [[Bernard Berelson]] found that during the 1945 New York newspaper strike, New Yorkers exhibited a virtual addiction to news, describing themselves as "lost", "nervous", "isolated", and "suffering" due to the withdrawal.<ref>Bernard Berelson, "[http://simson.net/ref/1948/What_missing_the_newspaper_means.pdf What 'missing the newspaper' means]", in ''Communications Research 1948–1949'', ed. Lazarsfeld & Stanton; New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949; quoted in Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), p. 17.</ref> Television news has become still further embedded in everyday life, with specific programming anticipated at different times of day.<ref name="Allen47">Allan, ''News Culture'' (2004), pp. 47–48.</ref> Children tend to find the news boring, too serious, or emotionally disturbing. They come to perceive news as characteristic of adulthood, and begin watching television news in their teenage years because of the adult status it confers.<ref>Allan, ''News Culture'' (2004), pp. 113–115.</ref>

People exhibit various forms of skepticism towards the news. Studies of [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] readers found that many of them gain pleasure from seeing through the obviously fake or poorly constructed stories—and get their "real news" from television.<ref>Allan, ''News Culture'' (2004), pp. 110–112.</ref>

===Social and cultural cohesion===
An important feature distinguishing news from private information transfers is the impression that when one reads (or hears, or watches) it, one joins a larger public.<ref name=Starr24>Starr, ''Creation of the Media'' (2004), p. 24. "Publications weave invisible threads of connection among their readers. Once a newspaper circulates, for example, no one ever truly reads it alone. Readers know that others are also seeing it at roughly the same time, and they read it differently as a result, conscious that the information is now out in the open, spread before a public that may talk about the news and act on it."</ref> In this regard news serves to unify its receivers under the banner of a culture, or a society, as well as into the sub-demographics of a society targeted by their favorite kind of news.<ref>Salmon, ''The Newspaper and the Historian'' (1923), p. 17. "The newspaper has ceased to be a personal organ and has become a social product; it no longer represents the interests of an individual, but it represents rather a group activity. The press groups society and unifies each group, as Scott-James has pointed out. It unifies society on national lines and thus the press of each country has developed in its own characteristic direction. It unifies the groups interested in religion, in politics, in business, in automobiles, in sports, in education, or in fashion, and from these groups having unified interests there has developed the press that ministers to each specialized group."</ref> News thus plays a role in [[nation-building]], the construction of a national identity.<ref>Motti Neiger, Eyal Zandberg, and Oren Meyers, "Localizing Collective Memory: Radio Broadcasts and the Construction of Regional Memory"; in ''On Media Memory'' (2011), ed. Neiger, Myers, & Zandberg; pp. 156–160. "In Israel, radio played a decisive role in establishing and consolidating the nation during the first decades after the creation of the State (Pansler, 2004). The exclusive position enjoyed by radio in the field of electronic broadcasting during the crucial first twenty years of Israel's existence since 1948, when the press was politically divided and television was absent—Israel's first television channel started broadcasting in 1968—gave it much weight in setting the collective agenda."</ref>

[[Photojournalism|Images connected with news]] can also become iconic and gain a fixed role in the culture. Examples such as [[Alfred Eisenstaedt]]'s photograph ''[[V-J Day in Times Square]]'', [[Nick Ut]]'s photograph of [[Phan Thi Kim Phuc]] and other children running from a napalm blast in Vietnam; [[Kevin Carter]]'s photograph of a starving child being stalked by a vulture;<ref name=Zeiler31 /> etc.

With the new interconnectedness of global media, the experience of receiving news along with a world audience reinforces the social cohesion effect on a larger scale.<ref>McNair, ''Cultural Chaos'' (2006), pp. 6–7. "But [news] is an illusion which, when we receive it, and when we extend to it our trust in its authority as a representation of the real, transports us from the relative isolation of our domestic environments, the parochialism of our streets and small towns, the crowded bustle of our big cities, to membership of virtual global communities, united in access to ''these'' events, communally experienced at ''this'' moment, through global communications networks. […] It is, indeed, more like the fear and exhilaration experienced by watching a movie on the big screen, but with an added viscerality contributed by the awareness that this scene, unlike a movie, is ''really happening'', right now, to real people."</ref> As a corollary, global media culture may erode the uniqueness and cohesion of national cultures.<ref name=SilverblattZlobin28>Silverblatt & Zlobin, ''International Communications'' (2004), pp. 28–31. "A major liability of transnational media conglomerates is the loss of distinctive local culture. Transnational media conglomerates have a distinctly American influence—regardless of their country of origin. For instance, although Bertlesmann is a German-based corporation, in 2001, its largest proportion of its revenue (35 per cent) came from its U.S. media subsidiaries, including Bantam, Doubleday Dell, and Random House publishing companies, ''Family Circle'' and ''McCall's''' magazines, and Arista and RCA record labels."</ref>

===Public sphere===
This collective form experience can be understood to constitute a political realm or [[public sphere]].<ref name=Starr24 /><ref>Park, "News as a Form of Knowledge" (1940), p. 677.</ref> In this view, the news media constitute a [[fourth estate]] which serves to check and balance the operations of government.<ref name="Allen47"/>

This idea, at least as a goal to be sought, has re-emerged in the era of global communications.<ref>Geniets, ''Global News Challenge'' (2013), pp. 17–18.</ref> Today, unprecedented opportunities exist for public analysis and discussion of world events.<ref>McNair, ''Cultural Chaos'' (2006), pp. 140–144.</ref> According to one interpretation of the [[CNN effect]], instantaneous global news coverage can rally public opinion as never before to motivate political action.<ref>McNair, ''Cultural Chaos'' (2006), pp. 179–185.</ref> In 1989, local and global communications media-enabled instant exposure to and discussion of the Chinese government's actions in [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|Tiananmen Square]]. The news about Tiananmen Square travelled over a fax machine, telephone, newspaper, radio, and television, and continued to travel even after the government imposed new restrictions on local telecommunications.<ref>Hachten, ''World News Prism'' (1996), pp. 70–72.</ref>

===News events===
As the technological means for disseminating news grew more powerful, news became an experience which millions of people could undergo simultaneously. Outstanding news experiences can exert a profound influence on millions of people. Through its power to effect a shared experience, news events can mold the [[collective memory]] of a society.<ref>Salmon, ''The Newspaper and the Historian'' (1923), pp. 211–213.</ref><ref>Park, "News as a Form of Knowledge" (1940), pp. 685–686. "In fact, the multiplication of the means of communication has brought it about that anyone, even in the most distant part of the world, may now actually participate in events—at least as listener if not as spectator—as they actually take place in some other part of the world. We have recently listened to Mussolini address his fascist followers from a balcony of Rome; we have heard Hitler speaking over the heads of a devout congregation in the Reichstag, in Berlin, not merely to the President, but to the people, of the United States. We have even had an opportunity to hear the terms of the momentous Munich agreement ten seconds after it had been signed by the representatives of four of the leading powers in Europe and the world. The fact that acts so momentous as these can be so quickly and so publicly consummated has suddenly and completely changed the character of international politics so that one can no longer even guess what the future has in store for Europe and for the world."</ref>

One type of news event, the [[media event]], is a scripted pageant organized for a mass live broadcast. Media events include athletic contests such as the Super Bowl and the Olympics, cultural events like awards ceremonies and celebrity funerals, and also political events such as coronations, debates between electoral candidates, and diplomatic ceremonies.<ref>Dayan & Katz, ''Media Events'' (1992), pp. 1–14.</ref> These events typically unfold according to a common format which simplifies the transmission of news items about them.<ref>Dayan & Katz, ''Media Events'' (1992), pp. 25–53.</ref> Usually, they have the effect of increasing the perceived unity of all parties involved, which include the broadcasters and audience.<ref>Dayan & Katz, ''Media Events'' (1992), p. 196.</ref> Today, international events such as a national declaration of independence can be scripted in advance with the major news agencies, with staff specially deployed to key locations worldwide in advance of the life news broadcast. Public relations companies can participate in these events as well.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Paterson | first1 = Chris | last2 = Andresen | first2 = Kenneth | last3 = Hoxha | first3 = Abit | title = "The manufacture of an international news event: The day Kosovo was born"; | journal = Journalism | volume = 13 | issue = 1| pages = 103–120 | year= 2011 | doi=10.1177/1464884911400846| s2cid = 145715955 }}</ref>

The perception that an ongoing crisis is taking place further increases the significance of live news. People rely on the news and constantly seek more of it, to learn new information and to seek reassurance amidst feelings of fear and uncertainty.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 57–61.</ref> Crises can also increase the effect of the news on social cohesion, and lead the population of a country to "rally" behind its current leadership.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 73–76.</ref> The rise of a global news system goes hand in hand with the advent of [[terrorism]] and other sensational acts, which have power in proportion to the audience they capture. In 1979, the [[Iran hostage crisis|capture of American hostages in Iran]] dominated months of news coverage in the western media, gained the status of a "crisis", and influenced a presidential election.<ref>Hachten, ''World News Prism'' (1996), pp. 73–77.</ref>

South Africans overwhelmingly describe the end of Apartheid as a source of the country's most important news.<ref>Danie Du Plessis, "What's News in South Africa?" in Shoemaker & Cohen, ''News Around the World'' (2006), p. 303. "Virtually all references to the political significance of news events refer to the historical events of the first part of the 1990s. Current political events are overshadowed so greatly by the start of the political process in South Africa that they have lost much of their significance to the participants. Both black and white participants in the focus group shared this response."</ref> In the United States, news events such as the assassinations of the 1960s (of [[the assassination of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]], [[Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.|Martin Luther King, Jr.]], and [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|Robert F. Kennedy]]), the 1969 [[Moon landing]], the 1986 [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] explosion, the 1997 death of Princess Diana, the [[Bush v. Gore|intervention of the Supreme Court]] in the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] and the 2001 [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>Elizabeth A. Skewes and Heather Black, "What's News in the United States?" in Shoemaker & Cohen, ''News Around the World'' (2006), p. 329.</ref> In Jordan, people cited numerous memorable news events involving death and war, including the death of [[King Hussein]], Princess Diana, and [[Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin|Yitzhak Rabin]]. Positive news stories found memorable by Jordanians featured political events affecting their lives and families—such as the [[South Lebanon security belt|Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon]], and the [[Israel–Jordan peace treaty]].<ref>Mohammed Issa Taha Ali, "What's News in Jordan?" in Shoemaker & Cohen, ''News Around the World'' (2006), p. 252.</ref>

News coverage can also shape collective memory in retrospect. A study of Israeli news coverage leading up to the media event of the nation's 60th birthday found that news coverage of events like the Holocaust, World War Two, and subsequent Israeli wars increased the perceived importance of these events in the minds of citizens.<ref>Neta Kliger-Vilenchik, "Memory-Setting: Applying Agenda-Setting Theory to the Study of Collective Memory"; in ''On Media Memory'' (2011), ed. Neiger, Myers, & Zandberg; pp. 233–234. Also see: Neta Kliger-Vilenchik, "Setting the collective memory agenda: Examining mainstream media influence on individuals' perceptions of the past"; ''Memory Studies'' 7.4, October 2014.</ref>

===News making===
News making is the act of making the news or doing something that is considered to be newsworthy. When discussing the act of news making, scholars refer to specific models. Five of these models are the Professional Model, Mirror Model, Organizational Model, Political Model, and Civic Journalism Model.<ref name="Graber 1980">{{Cite book|title = Mass Media and American Politics|last = Graber|first = Doris A.|publisher = Congressional Quarterly Press|year = 1980}}</ref>

The Professional Model is when skilled peoples put certain events together for a specific audience. The reaction of the audience is influential because it can determine the impact that the particular article or newspaper has on the readers.<ref name="post.queensu.ca">{{Cite web|url = http://post.queensu.ca/~rosej/pols313|title = Queen's University – Department of Political Studies|website = Queen's University}}</ref> The Mirror Model states that news should reflect reality. This model aims to focus on particular events and provide accuracy in reporting. The Organizational Model is also known as the Bargaining Model.<ref name="Graber 1980"/> It focuses on influencing various news organizations by applying pressures to governmental processes. The Political Model outlines that news represents the ideological biases of the people as well as the various pressures of the political environment. This model mainly influences journalists and attempts to promote public opinion.<ref name="post.queensu.ca"/> The Civic Journalism Model is when the press discovers the concerns of the people and uses that to write stories. This allows the audience to play an active role in society.

Models of news making help define what the news is and how it influences readers. But it does not necessarily account for the content of print news and online media. Stories are selected if they have a strong impact, incorporate violence and scandal, are familiar and local, and if they are timely.

News Stories with a strong impact can be easily understood by a reader. Violence and scandal create an entertaining and attention-grabbing story.<ref name="Graber 1980"/> Familiarity makes a story more relatable because the reader knows who is being talked about. Proximity can influence a reader more. A story that is timely will receive more coverage because it is a current event. The process of selecting stories coupled with the models of news making are how the media is effective and impactful in society.

===Psychological effects===
{{See also|Media influence|Cultivation theory}}

Exposure to constant news coverage of war can lead to stress and anxiety.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' 2001; 55.</ref> Television coverage of the [[Collapse of the World Trade Center|destruction of the World Trade Center]] in 2001, which repeated the same footage over and over, led to symptoms of [[trauma (medicine)|trauma]] experienced across the United States.<ref>Mark A. Schuster, et al., "A National Survey of Stress Reactions After the September 11, 2011, Terrorist Attacks", ''New England Journal of Medicine'', 345.20, 15 November 2001.</ref> Studies have indicated that children have been traumatized by exposure to television of other frightening events, including the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Challenger disaster]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Terr |display-authors=etal  | title = Children's symptoms in the wake of Challenger: a field study of distant-traumatic effects and an outline of related conditions | journal = American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 156 | issue = 10| year = 1999 | pmid = 10518163 | doi=10.1176/ajp.156.10.1536 | pages=1536–44}}</ref> Journalists themselves also experience trauma and guilt.<ref>Gavin Rees, "The Trauma Factor", in Fowler-Watt & Allan (eds.), ''Journalism'' (2013).</ref>

Research also suggest that constant representations of violence in the news lead people to overestimate the frequency of its occurrence in the real world, thus increasing their level of fear in everyday situations.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Altheide | first1 = David L. | title = The News Media, the Problem Frame, and the Production of Fear | journal = Sociological Quarterly | volume = 38 | issue = 4| pages = 647–668 | year= 1997 | doi = 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1997.tb00758.x }}</ref>

===Influence===
The content and style of news delivery certainly have effects on the general public, with the magnitude and precise nature of these effects being tough to determine experimentally.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 1–10.</ref> In Western societies, television viewing has been so ubiquitous that its total effect on psychology and culture leave few alternatives for comparison.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 12. "Some media may be so pervasive and so consistent in their effects that their impact is not noticeable. After all, it is almost impossible find someone who doesn't watch television in industrialized societies. And those light viewers associate regularly with others who do watch television. Morgan (1986) suggested that 'the longer we live with television, the smaller television's observable impact may become'.</ref>

News is the leading source of knowledge about global affairs for people around the world.<ref>Zhong, "Searching for Meaning" (2006), pp. 17–18.</ref> According to [[agenda-setting theory]], the general public will identify as its priorities those issues which are highlighted on the news.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McCombs | first1 = Maxwell E. | last2 = Shaw | first2 = Donald L. | title = The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media | doi = 10.1086/267990 | journal = Public Opinion Quarterly | volume = 36 | issue = 2| page = 176 | year = 1972 }}</ref> The agenda-setting model has been well-supported by research, which indicate that the public's self-reported concerns respond to changes in news coverage rather than changes in the underlying issue itself.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 98–99.</ref> The less an issue obviously affects people's lives, the bigger an influence media agenda-setting can have on their opinion of it.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 100. "When issues are obtrusive, or directly experienced, such as inflation, the public does not need the news media to alert them to its importance. But, the less direct experience that they have with an issue, the more they depend on the news media for awareness. So, agenda-setting appears to be stronger for less personally involving issues."</ref> The agenda-setting power becomes even stronger in practice because of the correspondence in news topics promulgated by different media channels.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tien Vu | first1 = Hong | last2 = Guo | first2 = Lei | last3 = McCombs | first3 = Maxwell E. | title = Exploring 'the World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads': A Network Agenda-Setting Study | journal = Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly | volume = 91 | issue = 4| year= 2014 }}</ref>