Approaches to the sociology of news

Michael Schudson, Sociology of news production

Summary

Claim: Journalism is where the news are "made"

Keywords: Journalism, news, ideology,

In conversation with: Molotch and Lester and Tuchman; Herman and Chomsky; Pearce,Freud and Laing; Stuart Hall on 'news values'. Organisational approach (Rothman and the Lichters)

Method: Comparative study
Why important

• To academics: contributes to contemporary sociological studies of news
• To general public:

Notes:

There are four approaches to the sociology of news:

1. Political economy approach: For understanding the. broad outlines of the news product. ideological aspect of newswork

2. Organisational approach. Routine (planed and promoted by the same agent); scandal (planned by one and promoted by the other); accident (unplaned and promoted by the other).

3. Culturological approach: while there are events continuosly occuring in the world, they are shaped and curated by the media, which create a discourse around them. Eg what critics say about the work of art, and the publication about on The Guardian is as much part of a work of art, as the artefact or event itself. Eg., in Stuart Hall - "of the millions of events which occur every day in the world, only a tiny portion ever become visible as 'potential news stories'" (277)

References

Schudson, Michael. n.d. “The Sociology of News Production.” July 1, 1989 11(3):263–82.