Chapters 3 & 4

Agenda

• Present thesis statement

• Chapter 3 à Why follow news?; What is entertainment?; Shifting Landscape…

• Chapter 4 à Conversation’s Sake; Monkey See, Monkey Do…

• Revisit thesis statement/Conclusion

• Activity

Thesis

Thesis statement:   People between the ages of 18-40 focus their time significantly more on entertainment media than they do on the news. The is due to the fact for the most part entertainment appeals to personal enjoyment for this age group, while the news is followed primarily with a purpose of fitting in with a group.

Why do people follow the news?

1. People follow the news because they are part of a

community. 2. People follow the news because they learn things

that they will use in their lives, particularly in conversation.

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During interviews…

•  23-year-old recent graduate was tuned out

name: Lizzie Salzfass •  36-year-old vice president of bank was most

tuned in

name: Kanon Cozad

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What is entertainment to those under 40?

•  “Give me liberty or give me death.” •  “What’s up Doc?”

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What is entertainment to those under 40?

•  “Give me liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry (prominent figure in American

Revolution) •  “What’s up Doc?” Bugs Bunny (cartoon character)

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Vladimir I. Lenin John Lennon (former leader of Soviet Union) (a Beatle)

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Justice William Rehnquist Britney Spears (former Justice of US Supreme Court) (pop singer)

•  Serious news has receded as entertainment has grown exponentially

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•  young viewers argue that entertainment is without filters, unlike serious news

What they don’t realize… •  Entertainment (such as the popular reality TV) is

filtered a lot

example: The Hills, Survivor, etc.

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Frasier's Dilemma:

•  journalists need to inform their audience à if information is boring, they will lose their readers/

viewers

but… •  “if they pander to audience, they have nothing

worthwhile to communicate” à if a journalist doesn’t have an audience it is like writing in a diary (41)

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Continued…

•  NEED balance between informing and entertaining (/

holding the interest of) the audience this has always been a cause of tension Clip: Cheers - Frasier reads A Tale of Two Cities

•  Cheers clip

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Why do people under 40 tune out?

•  Youth tune out “because the historical

tension between want and need has shifted substantially”

Example: Hamilton Spectator front page news

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The Shifting Landscape

•  For much of the last 2 centuries

journalism has become detached & objective

•  Ex. Wall Street Journal, CNN & National Public Radio

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The Shifting Landscape

•  Why do people tune into

entertainment?

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The Shifting Landscape

•  People tune in to entertainment

because it speaks to their realities, fears & dreams.

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The Shifting Landscape

News in politics:

•  Fewer people understand the importance of being politically informed

•  Political news excludes young adults

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The Shifting Landscape

Lifestyle & Entertainment: •  Today, Time & Newsweek are seven

times as likely to share the same cover topic as People as they were 30 years ago.

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The Shifting Landscape

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Need-Want Tension

•  Cable TV & Internet alter balance between

need and want.

•  The more media outlets, the more they need to compete with each other for viewer’s attention.

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Need-Want Tension

•  CNN’s Most popular stories in 2002:

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Chasing Young People

•  Advertisers follow media outlets that can

attract the under-30 crowd

•  Examples: •  Explosion of MTV •  ESPN •  Marketing pop stars

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Chasing Young People

Nakednews.com •  Broadcasts daily news over the web

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Stories That Lure

•  Shock, titillate & pull at heartstrings

•  Roland Barthes, the French semiologist, said that news always involve… •  ‘disturbed causality’: An astonishment

that confounds expectations

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Stories That Lure

•  The Antique cookie cutter:

•  Villain •  Victim •  confrontation

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For Conversation’s Sake

•  The significance of news to conversation can

be understood in it’s absence example: New York City, 1945 •  Many people follow the news simply so they

can discuss it with their peers (family, friends, colleagues etc.)

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Continued…

•  Others follow the news, to break the news

•  “I’ve always been interested in finding out the latest news items, being the first to tell somebody about them” (63).

example: Twitter

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Monkey See, Monkey Do

•  Parental interest in the news is significant toward influencing people’s tendency to follow the news

•  “Kids have political views usually because their parents have political views” (66).

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Educational Impact

•  Children are often strongly influenced by their

teachers Example: Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Max

Frankel, Bishop Perry Catholic Middle School

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Why not news?

•  overwhelming majority of young people listed “not enough time” as primary reason

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Time or Priorities?

•  Main factor making lives busy is most likely TV

and other entertainment media (65)

•  Average American watches 4 hours of TV a day

•  Average family has TV on for 7 hours a day (65)

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9/11

How was news viewership affected by the

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the extensive media coverage that followed?

•  Most people reported only short term

changes in their news habits (69)

•  People who’s news habits changed the most were those who were already tuned in

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The Internet

•  Full spectrum of information

•  Changing demographic (now reflective of overall population)

•  If everyone is using Internet, but only small minority are accessing news, what are people doing on the computer?

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Computer Usage

•  Email

•  Instant messaging

•  Social networking

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Is the Internet good or bad for people and news consumption?

•  Many negative views (the rich get richer)

•  Marshall McLuhan - Hot and Cold media Which is the Internet?

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Specialty Media

•  All media = many choices Example; newspapers, television, radio •  The Internet = more choices

•  Specialty media targets people’s hearts, not their heads

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Analysis

•  After analyzing the results of Mindich’s study, it

becomes clear that the Internet does not promote political activism or generate news interest to the average user… it just provides a great database to those that are already involved.

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Conclusion

Thesis revisited:   People between the ages of 18-40 focus their time

significantly more on entertainment media than they do on the news. The is due to the fact, for the most part entertainment appeals to personal enjoyment for this age group, while the news is followed primarily with a purpose of fitting in with a group.

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