Annotated Bibliography Assessment

Annotated Bibliography: An Assessment for Introduction to Journalism 1111.

By Merryn McDonnell.

Student number s4285498.

Today, there is a greater demand for news than ever before. However, discerning audiences want news to have impact, be relatable and be factual (Hartung, B.W. 1979) The information carried by different media texts can vary greatly, even when reporting the same story.

This post will examine four different media texts. In addition to a single academic text, three media texts are considered. These include:

·      a television story from the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC);

·      an online story from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC);

·      a print story from Newsweek magazine (America).

These different news mediums share the same main story- the USA President Barack Obama announcing his support for same sex marriage. However, each text has interpreted the same story in a slightly different way. The single academic text focuses on the US media’s representation of gay rights in the news.

Roberts, R. (2012). Obama's Historic Pro-Gay Marriage Stance. American Broadcast Corporation. May 9, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RkoMDv3fE&feature=relmfu

This was an interview produced by the ABC (America) television network. In this interview, journalist Robin Roberts interviewed President Obama and Obama verified his support of same sex marriage. As the ABC is a commercial broadcasting television network, stakeholders and shareholders have a great interest in the content of ABC. The main interest of the ABC is to create a story filled with as much drama as possible, in order to achieve high ratings. “Exclusive and historic interview” and “the President’s deeply personal thoughts”, were stated by the journalist throughout the story (Roberts, R. 2012).

The television medium used by the ABC is credible, as it is sourced directly from the ABC network. The content of this television text gives a credible overview of the history of the story. It is important for the ABC to establish previous/current facts, as television news audiences’ prior knowledge of an issue will affect their interpretation of a news story (Schaap, 2009). This overview features President Obama’s changing response to gay marriage, the current and contrasting opinions of the forerunning Republican Presidential-Candidate Mitt Romney and Gay rights activists. In addition, the input of New York Times Correspondent, Jodi Kantor, is also included. This information is credible, as direct footage has been used in conjunction with names and a date/year.

This television story is significantly different from the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) online story. As ABC is an American commercial television network, the story is focused on USA history, the up-coming election and how the President’s words will potentially affect Americans in their voting. In contrast to this, Australia’s public media ABC reported the story, with the addition of the Australian Prime Minister’s opinion. In both stories, hyperlocalisation has been used. This enables audiences’ to feel more connected to the story, depending on their country of residence.

ABCnews (2012). PM unswayed by Obama's gay marriage stance. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. May 10 2012. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/pm-reacts-to-obamas-support-for-gay-marriage/4003116.

This online story was produced by the ABC (Australia) news website. Footage from the ABC (America) interview was included above the written Australian online story. Australia’s ABC online story focused on Australian PM Julia Gillard announcing she is still opposed to same sex marriage, despite US president Obama declaring his support of gay marriage.

The ABC is a public media network. Audiences typically see it as a reliable source as the government or advertisers have little or not influence on the network. The ultimate purpose of the ABC is to serve the public and not to turn a profit (WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006).

The medium of ABC news online can be considered credible. Vague claims, undated content, and an absence of information due to a commercial influence are the causes of an online news site’s loss in credibility (Chiagouris, 2008). As the ABC is a public media network, there is typically little question of commercial influence. The online story does not make any vague claim s- it predominately uses direct quotes from sources. Finally, the online story is dated May 12, 2012 17:50:22. These reasons prove not only that the medium of the story is credible, but also the content of the story.

Sullivan, A (2012). Barack Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution: The President of the United States shifted the mainstream in one interview.

Newsweek 159. 21. May 21 2012. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/1013491335.

In contrast to the Australian ABC online text is America’s Newsweek magazine printed text. The ABC online text is unbiased, news- and fact-driven, contains mainly direct quotes and is under 500 words. The print text sourced from Newsweek presents a comprehensive overview regarding the history of the story, includes the author’s personal opinions and is 2400 words.

This print text reports President Obama’s support of same sex marriage in great detail, opinion and length. Newsweek magazine is an American, commercial media corporation. Due various factors including the migration of readers to online news, the advertising revenue of US magazines is declining rapidly and substantially (Perth Now, 2011). It can be assumed that Newsweek is producing vivid stories to entice readers to buy the magazine and sustain advertising revenue. The author of this print text is journalist, Andrew Sullivan. As an openly gay man, Sullivan has taken an extremely personal approach to this story. Sullivan has also written the text in the first person.

The medium of the text is credible as it is directly from the Newsweek magazine corporation. The credibility of the content is inconsistent. Sullivan has used accurate dates, quotes, names and movements to support his story. However, not all of the information, statistics, polls and names included are cited nor sourced.

The print text of this story is considerably different to the academic text cited. This print text is driven by the author’s opinion, commercially funded and poses a very intimate theme. The academic text is a reflection of the American media’s treatment of gay rights, and although the opinions from case studies are included, the opinion of the author is absent.

Moscowitz, L (2012). For better or for worse: News discourse, Gay rights activism and the same sex marriage debate. Indiana University. May 2008. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/304631625/abstract

Author Leigh Moscowitz (Indiana University) has included extensive research regarding how homosexual news stories are presented in the US media.

The medium of this text is highly credible as Indiana University is a highly regarded research institution. The universities’ dissertation and theses standards have been met in the published work.

Content includes the representation of gay rights protests, laws and developments. Moscowitz has also included illustrative case studies on the topic. Furthermore, Moscowitz has presented the content information with accurate referencing, names, dates and case studies. It is evident that thorough fact checking and research has been conducted.

In complete contrast to this academic text is the ABC (America) television text. Although the information presented in both texts is similar, the objectives are opposite. The academic text is research-oriented, seeking only facts. However, the main objective of the ABC television text is to dramatize the story- in order to generate more attention.  As a commercial network, the ABC’s main goal is to attract audiences for advertisers (Redman, 2012).  Furthermore, the academic text is a document larger than 200 pages, the ABC television text is far more condensed (6 minutes).  

Bibliography:

Hartung, B. W. (1979). Attitudes towards the current applicability of the 1947 Hutchins report on social responsibilities of the press. United States International University. 1979. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/302996047/abstract

Roberts, R. (2012). Obama's Historic Pro-Gay Marriage Stance. American Broadcast Corporation. May 9, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RkoMDv3fE&feature=relmfu

Schaap, G. (2009). Measuring the Complexity of Viewers' Television News Interpretation: Integration. Interpreting Television News. 2009. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/755476857.

WGBH Educational Foundation (2006). Open Content and Public Broadcasting. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006. Retrieved from http://opencontent.wgbh.org/report/opencontentreport.pdf

Chiagouris, L. Mary, M. Plank, L. & R. E. (2008): The Consumption of Online News: The Relationship of Attitudes Toward the Site and Credibility, Journal of Internet Commerce, 7:4, 528-549. 2008. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332860802507396.

Perth now (2011). Newspapers ad revenue drops for 20th quarter. September 02, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/media-marketing/newspapers-ad-revenue-drops-for-20th-quarter/story-e6frg2rc-1226128123525

Redman, B (2012). 1111. Introduction to Journalism. (Lecture notes). Retrieved from https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2187487-dt-content-rid-396604_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/JOUR1111_Week6_Commercial%20_Media.pdf. Accessed online 20/5/2012.