News Media

FOR WEDNESDAY, READ CH. 9

From FourWeekMBA

Disney and Charter have settled.  But cable's future is unsettled.

Implications for cable news.

And campaigns.

An example of tracing a story back.

Evolving organizational model for newspapers

Broadcast Titles

• Anchor:  One in the television studio who ties together the newscast by reading the news and providing transitions from one story to the next.
• Executive Producer:  The television executive with overall responsibility for the look of the television newscast.
• Field Producer: Behind-the-scenes television reporter who often does much of the field work for a network's on-camera correspondents.
• Network Correspondent: A television reporter who delivers the news on camera. Network correspondents may or may not do the actual news-gathering for their stories.
• Show Producer: Television news specialists who produce individual newscasts and report to the executive producer.

Bureaus and Beats:  The Los Angeles Times (as of today)

Enterprise journalism 

Gatekeeping and story selection:  

• REMEMBER THIS PHRASE:  FOR-PROFIT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING EYEBALLS TO ADVERTISERS.
• Traditional criteria
• Journalist background and demographics:  more on Wednesday
• The herd and Twitter

From a 1988 conference:

Roger Ailes: Let's face it, there are three things that the media are interested in: pictures, mistakes and attacks. That's the one sure way of getting coverage. You try to avoid as many mistakes as you can. You try to give them as many pictures as you can. And if you need coverage, you attack, and you will get coverage.

It's my orchestra pit theory of politics. You have two guys on stage and one guy says, "I have a solution to the Middle East problem," and the other guy falls in the orchestra pit, who do you think is going to be on the evening news?

... 

One thing you don't want to do is get your head up too far on some new vision for America because then the next thing that happens is the media runs over to the Republican side and says, "Tell me why you think this is an idiotic idea.

Judy Woodruff: So you're saying the notion of the candidate saying, "I want to run for President because I want to do something for this country," is crazy.

Roger Ailes: Suicide.

The advice is still conventional wisdom. See DeSantis Super PAC memo.  So here is the highlight reel:

Getting Information

• Public Records
• Interviews:  the usual suspects
• Crowdsourcing:  or how David Farenthold won the Pulitzer
• Leaks
• “The Ego Leak” --  Giving information primarily to satisfy a sense of self-importance.
• “The Goodwill Leak” -- A play for a future favor: The primary purpose is to accumulate credit with a reporter, which the leaker hopes can be spent at a later date. 
• “The Policy Leak” --  A straightforward pitch for or against a proposal using some document or insiders’ information as the lure to get more attention than might be otherwise justified. The great leaks, such as the Pentagon papers in 1971, often fit this category.
• “The Animus Leak” -- Used to settle grudges. Information is disclosed to embarass another person.
• “The Trial-Balloon Leak” -- Revealing a proposal that is under consideration in order to assess its assets and liabilities. 
• “The Whistle-Blower Leak” --  Unlike the others, usually employed by career personnel.
• Tips
• Soliciting tips and leaks
• NYT tip site
• "On the Record," "Off the Record," "Background"