In the absence of direct experience with a particular person, place of thing (e.g. Liberty City) the images presented by the mass media are the reality.

Does the media simultaneously present and distort reality?

How Is mediated communication like a diamond?

When television news is planned, the news is defined in terms of what can be covered by pictures?

What kind of news can not be covered very well by pictures?

If it can not be covered by pictures does it mean that it is not news?

"The Images From Miami (The Rally) would have a shock effect on the rest of the country"

Is the most dramatic, shocking, attention-getting story always the story that will help us understand a particular event?

As a television newscaster you must decide:

1) what impressions you want to create in the minds of your audience?

2) do these images reflect the "reality" of the situation?

the pictures you choose to broadcast and the sequence of those pictures is a strategic choice, the consequences of those choices influence the impressions that is created in the minds of the audience

-remember the definition of communication

relying on the visual medium to carry information necessarily

simplifies and compresses events

In covering the Miami situation

the network news made a decision to focus on the violent reaction to the verdict

it chose to simplify and compress

but it making this choice it focused on the minority who expressed themselves through the use of violence and tended to ignore the broader community response

relying on the visual medium tend to focus the news on the facets of he story which are likely to give you the best pictures

why were there only six jurors on an important case?

why were all the jurors white?

these types of questions are often not asked and answered because the medium does not lend itself well to this type of presentation

generally the only way to handle certain issues is through dialogue or talking heads similar to the McNeil-Learner report which tends to be less dramatic.

Thus, the nature of the medium influence the nature of the message which is communicated

What Factors Influence What Is Covered And How It Is Covered

1)Access To The Event Being Covered-Potential Danger To News Crews (The Picture Takers)

2)The Media's View Of Their Own Role During A Crisis

1) one option is to just show the rioting and consequences of rioting

2) could put spokesperson on the air (in the Miami situation Mrs McDuffee) to try and persuade people to stop the rioting

Thus, The News Serves Multiple Functions Simultaneously

Information Management

Belief/Behavior Management (Influence)

We Have Suggested That Communication Also Takes Place In A Context And That Context Shapes How Persons Interpret Messages

IF THE GOAL OF "THE NEWS" TO CREATE SHARED UNDERSTANDING THAN ONE GOAL OF THE NEWS IS TO CREATE CONTEXT

If An Audience Is Going To Understand What Caused The Miami Riot Than They Have To Have An Understanding Of The Context In Which The Riot Took Place

It Is Possible To See The Miami Riot

1) as a response solely to the McDuffee Verdict

or

2) as a response to history of injustice to blacks from the Dade county criminal-justice system.

In the Miami situation networks devoted only 3 minutes of air time trying to create the context which contributed to the riot

Viewers could interpret the Miami Riot

1) senseless violence

or

2) a senseless but not unprovoked response to injustice

Do Images Of Violence/Disorder/Rioting Inflame A Situation And Create Further Disorder?

Codes And Guidelines For Handling Volatile Situations

"regard with suspicion any interviewing of participants during riots. It is questionable whether such interviews serve a valid purpose and they may incite rather than inform"

"trained persons, including police officials and articulate onlookers may offer useful facts"

"we cannot properly report the violence and ignore its causes. It is essential to the overall reality of the situation to move as early as possible into perspective and background phases (i.e. create context) on the city, its racial communities, the history of racial relations and views of individuals and organization on what caused the eruption."

THIS SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT BROADCAST NEWS TENDS TO FUNCTION WITH A CONSERVATIVE BIAS AND REINFORCE THE STATUS QUO

Quotes From Kerner Commission Report In Urban Violence During The Late 1960's

"Television newscasts during the periods of actual disorder in 1967 tended to emphasize law enforcement activities, thereby overshadowing underlying grievances and tensions."

A Conservative Bias Or A Liberal Bias?

"....we believe that the media have thus far failed to report adequately on the causes and consequences of civil disorders and the underlying problems of race relations"

WHY DOES TV NEWS OVER-EMPHASIZE DRAMATIC IMAGES AND DOWNPLAY AMOUNT OF AIR TIME GIVE TO DEPTH ANALYSIS?

During One Weekend In May Newscasts In Miami Tended To Emphasize

Fires And Destruction

Deaths And Injuries

Interviews With Officials And Black Spokespersons

Interviews With Owners Of Destroyed Businesses

When Television News

1) focuses on the activities of law enforcement

2) overemphasizes interviews with owners of destroyed businesses

than it tends to exhibit a CONSERVATIVE BIAS in reinforcing the established order and status quo, despite many assertions to the contrary, research often suggests that television news does not

exhibit a liberal bias in the messages it communicates

Is There A Double-Standard In The Way In Which White and Afro-Americans Are Portrayed In The Media?

Why Were There So Few Interviews With Community Residents During The Week Of The Miami Riots?

What Factors Influence Who Will Be A Spokesperson For A Particular Cause Or Group?

Time Have To Find A Person Quickly During A Breaking Story

Articulate

Does The Person Sound Good And Look Good On Camera

Credentials (Usually A Title Or Degree)

Selecting A Spokesperson For A Particular Cause Or Group Is Particularly Important

since you are selecting one person to be the voice of many

selecting a spokesperson is important and potentially divisive

those that are selected spokesperson are conferred the status of "opinion leaders" and are given power to set the agenda for social and political change

because "the news" selects them as spokespersons, they are assumed to speak for a particular cause, group, or community-this may or may not be the case

average "soundbite" on network news is now about 12 seconds, do not have time to establish the credibility of the spokesperson, the title or degree help establish credibility quickly

DOES THE MEDIA CREATE SPOKESPERSONS? E.G. MARVIN DUNN, A UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR WAS WIDELY INTERVIEWED DURING THE MIAMI CRISIS-DOES THE MEDIA CREATE OPINION-LEADERS?

The Validity and Credibility Of Mediated News Messages May Be Threatened

1) limited number of persons who are considered acceptable spokespersons (limiting

perspectives

2) limited amount of time which is devoted to analysis and building context

3) more cost effective to have expert come to the studio

"IN A SYMBOLIC WAY, THE TV MEDIUM CAN TURN ANYONE INTO A SPOKESPERSON. OUR OWN DECISIONS REGARDING WHO TO INTERVIEW WERE USUALLY BASED ON THAT PERSON'S ROLE, BUT OUR OWN VIEWPOINT WAS ALSO A FACTOR."

WHAT IS THE DOWNSIDE OF TV NEWS WHICH FOCUSES ONLY ON DRAMATIC IMAGERY?

1) strips story of it's social, political, and historical context

2) the history of liberty city is seen by viewers only in terms

of the violence which has occurred there-how or why the violence

occurred tends to be de-emphasized because analysis does not lend

itself to dramatic imagery

3) the range of beliefs and attitudes is usually much greater than dramatic televised images tends to suggest

WHAT IS "NEWS"?

1) Depends on the market-what is major news in Peoria may not be news in Chicago

2) the current climate of public opinion

3) interest value-do you think this potential story is interesting?

4) to what degree is the average viewer likely to be effected?

5) what comes across on the police scanner

6) what do people care about? what do they want to know about?

AGENDA-SETTING FUNCTION OF THE MEDIA

by deciding what is news you decide what is important-you set the agenda-you tell people what they should think about, and influences what they talk about

in Miami was police brutality was a problem before the riot?

why does it seem to draw media attention only after the riot?

Does the level of dramatic imagery in a story determine what is "news" and what is not "news"

"RELIABLE SOURCES HAVE TOLD US THAT TV IMAGES INESCAPABLY EMBODY A VIEWPOINT AND THAT TRADITIONAL IDEAS ABOUT "OBJECTIVITY" ARE FALSE AND MISLEADING-WE AGREE"

Presents And Distorts Reality-Mediated Communication Is Like A Diamond