Journalism: News Access and Source Power

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Given the fact that, up until comparatively recent times, the essence of socio-political dynamics in Western societies was primarily defined by exponential progress in the field of rationale-based empirical sciences, it comes as no surprise that, throughout the course of second half of twentieth century, it was namely the application of Sociological paradigm, within the theoretical framework of ‘discourse on newsworthiness’, which social scientists and journalists used to refer to as the only appropriate. Nevertheless, the post-industrial realities of 20^th century’s living point out to the fact that the concepts of news access and source power can no longer be looked upon through the lenses of euro-centric informational pragmatism – instead, these concepts should be thought of as essentially the tools of people’s culturalist accommodation. As it was rightly noted by Michael Schudson: “News today is only occasionally political in a direct sense, that is, something authored with the purpose of changing policy or power” (Schudson, 2002, p. 482). Nowadays, the number of people that think of news in terms of an entertainment is increasing in exponential progression to the flow of time, which means that, in very near future, it is specifically the utilization of Culturalist paradigm to define the objective subtleties of news-making practices, which will be considered legitimate. In our paper, we will aim to explore this hypothesis even further.

In Unit 73, Simon Cottle defines the conceptual difference between Sociological and Culturalist approaches to news access and source power as such that is being concerned with the advocates’ of both methodologies’ different understanding of what represents the ontological essence of news-making. Whereas, the adherents of Sociological paradigm suggest that Medias serve the cause of social stratification by subtly legitimizing the political authority of rich and powerful, the adherents of Culturalist paradigm imply that, by allowing news consumers to assess the significance of political events through the lenses of perceptual irrationality, Medias serve the function of strengthening the extent of cultural cohesiveness, within a particular society. The analysis of relevant literature substantiates the validity of Cottle’s suggestion.

For example, one of the most prominent promoters of Sociological paradigm in the field of journalism Howard Becker, never ceased stressing out the fact that the qualitative subtleties of how mainstream Medias deliver news to ordinary citizens cannot be discussed outside of the context of how representatives of political and financial elites strive to insure their dominance over society: “Any tale told by those at the top intrinsically deserves to be regarded as the most credible account obtainable of the organizations’ workings” (Becker, 1967, p. 141). In other words, the notion of a so-called ‘freedom of press’ is essentially mythical – mainstream Medias serve the cause of validating socio-political agenda, on the part of representatives of a political establishment. In its turn, this explains why informational content, associated with these Medias, is being brought to news consumers in cognitively pre-digested form – as practice shows, the way in which Media’s report on ‘news in making’, is the subject of ideological (in our days, politically-correct) interpretation.

Thus, the fact that news coverage, on the part of many mainstream Medias, appears sensationally exaggerated, the proponents of Sociological paradigm refer to as essentially instrumentalist phenomenon, which should be assessed within the context of political elites indulging in social engineering. In his book, Stanley Cohen had come to conclusion that Medias’ primary task appears to be artificially intensifying or lessening the degree of social tensions, within a particular society, in order for political elites to never lose an authoritative grip on such society’s functioning: “More moral panics will be generated and other, as yet nameless, folk devils will be created (by Medias)… because our society will continue to generate problems for some of its members” (Cohen, 1972, p. 2004). Thus, according to proponents of Sociological paradigm, the operational essence of ‘news production’, as rationale-driven process, confirms the validity of Gramscian concept of hegemony as such that is being concerned with the process of representatives of dominant social classes/ethno-cultural communities continuously seeking to legitimize their socially privileged status, on one hand, and with representatives of underprivileged social classes/ethno-cultural communities actively opposing this process, on another.

Nevertheless, the realities of post-industrialism and the fact that the process of political and economic Globalization continues to gain momentum, as we speak, renders the Sociological paradigm somewhat outdated. The reason for this is simple – in today’s world, the quintessence of socio-political dynamics is not being defined by fluctuations within Industrialist conceptual framework of supply vs. demand, but by dialectically predetermined process of Western societies becoming intellectually/spiritually marginalized, due to these societies’ continuous multiculturalization. It is important to understand that, even though environmental factors do affect people’s ability to resort to rationale-based reasoning, while facing life’s challenges, it is namely the specifics of people’s racially-biological makeup, which define their intellectual potential (IQ) more than anything else does.

The validity of this suggestion has been substantiated by empirical findings, contained in the book by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen (2002), in which authors had proven beyond any reasonable doubt that, the reason why, after having liberated themselves of ‘White oppression’, the so-called ‘developing’ countries of a Third World began to rapidly descend back into primeval savagery, is that the average rate of IQ, on the part of these countries’ citizens, often amounts to as low as 45-50. And, as psychologists are well aware of, the less intellectually advanced a particular individual is, the more he or she would be likely to assess surrounding realities through the lenses of emotional intensity, as opposed to assessing these realities through the lenses of intellectual exaltation. Therefore, the fact that Western societies continue to grow increasingly multicultural, create objective preconditions for more and more of these societies’ members to think of news access as the source of emotionally driven entertainment. In its turn, this explains why the social influence of so-called ‘tabloid Medias’ continues to increase rather drastically.

In his article, Juan Cebrian had made a perfectly good point while stating: “There was a time when we journalists could devote our time to writing about what was happening. Nowadays, things happen exclusively for journalists to be able to write about them” (Cebrian, 1998, p. 38). As of today, the likelihood for a particular political event to attract public attention, does not relate to the event’s actual relevance, but exclusively to whether this event can entertain intellectually marginalized public. Such our suggestion correlates rather well with the Culturalist perspective on news access and source power – as of today, reporting news had ceased being solely associated with its informative function. What it means is that, in the light of new developments in the field of ‘live reporting’, the Sociological paradigm has been deprived of its former theoretical soundness. As it was rightly suggested by John Langer in Unit 78: “Relying on an ‘informational model’ to explain television news and its unworthy tendencies may fail to recognize…viewer linkages to the news” (Langer, 2001, p. 10). Just as it is being the case with other, serially reproduced informational products, news will not be able to gain the attention of an audience, unless news’ actual content appeals to the existential mode of those, out of which this audience consists.

For example; whereas, in fifties and sixties, the so-called auteur (intellectual) films enjoyed considerable success with American movie-going audiences, nowadays, this can no longer be the case. The reason for this is simple – ever since Western countries had opened borders to ethnic immigrants, endowed with a primitively rural mentality, the intellectual well-being of these societies started to become increasingly undermined. It could not be otherwise – for example, as sociological surveys indicate, the annual dropout rate among Hispanics in America’s high schools accounts for as high as 40%-50%. Yet, Hispanics represent the fastest growing racial minority in U.S., which will soon become a majority. It is namely due to enthusiasm, on the part of Hispanic moviegoers, that such action-packed but intellectually primitive movies as Fast and Furious instantly become blockbusters, as soon as they get to be released to the theaters.

The same argument can be used to explain why, during the course of recent decades, it is not only that such programs as Cops, Rescue 911, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, When Animals Attack etc., had attained a fame of ‘real’ and therefore, ‘newsworthy’ sources of information, but why even formerly credible TV news-channels, such as CNN and Fox News, now utilize essentially a tabloid approach to news-reporting – the declining quality of Western journalism simply reflects the declining quality of Western populations, in general. As it was rightly pointed out by Anna Gough-Yates in Unit 5: “A simplistic political economy approach where representations and organizations are simply ‘read-off’ from the economic relations does not allow us to see institutions as they exist in social and cultural terms” (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 32). Apparently, an old saying that citizens in every country truly do deserve the government they have elected can be reformulated to resonate with the context of this paper: even though some Media-related representational forms and content do appear cognitively primitive, this does not undermine their informational legitimacy in the eyes of consumers. In its turn, this can be explained by particulars of consumers’ psyche as such that reflect qualitative subtleties of their ethno-cultural constitution. What it means is that the concept of news access and source power can no longer be thought of as ‘thing in itself’, as proponents of Sociological paradigm imply – and, as history indicates, the ‘culturalization’ of news, as the ultimate mean of increasing such news’ appeal, has traditionally been associated with the process of societies’ inner integrity being undermined from within.

For example, during the course of Roman Empire’s rapid decline in 5^th century A.D., there was only one way for Roman Emperors to go about trying to win favor with ordinary citizens – staging of ever-more graphic and bloodier gladiator shows. Apparently, nothing can entertain intellectually corrupted audiences more than the spectacle of people being murdered in particularly gruesome manner. When we analyze the content of today’s ‘reality shows’, ‘reality news’ or even ‘naked news’, it will appear that their ‘informational’ essence is the same with that of gladiator shows from two thousand years ago – providing audiences with an opportunity to get cheap thrills out of being exposed to different forms of mental and physical depravity. However, the rising popularity of R-rated movies and news cannot be thought of as the indication of intentional maliciousness, on the part of Media owners, as many proponents of Sociological paradigm subtly imply, but simply as an additional proof to the fact that it is namely the extent of particular society’s cultural refinement, which defines its members’ tendency to seek informational or entertaining content in the news.

It is important to understand that in multicultural society, it is not the way, in which Medias report on the news in making, which affects citizens’ political loyalties, but solely the particulars of these citizens’ ethno-cultural affiliation. On June 8, 2010, an absolutely unknown and inexperienced candidate Alvin Green had won Democratic Party’s nomination in South Carolina. And, the only reason he got elected is that South Carolina’s Black voters supported him enthusiastically, on the account of him being Black. In her online article, available on the web site of The Huffington Post, Seana Adcox states: “An unemployed military veteran who raised no funds and put up no campaign website shocked South Carolina’s Democratic Party leadership by capturing the nomination” (Adcox, 2010). Therefore, it appears that in multicultural society, the application of Sociological paradigm, in regards to news access and source power, cannot be considered fully appropriate, simply because, in order to define the qualitative essence of socio-political dynamics within such a society, one would be so much better off utilizing economic and psychiatric rather than purely political terminology.

In today’s world, the societal influence exerted by a particular political lobby is being geometrically proportional to the amount of financial assets, in such lobby’s possession. This is the reason why nowadays, the outcome of major political elections in just about Western country appears perfectly predictable – the more money a particular politician invests into its election campaign, the better would be his chances to get elected. Given the fact that the process of Globalization continues to gain a momentum, the traditional hegemony-related discourse, out of which Sociological paradigm actually derive, appears being inconsistent with the realities of post-industrial living.

As it was rightly noted by Kenichi Ohmae: “The global economy ignores barriers, but if they are not removed, they cause distortion” (Ohmae, 2005, p. 5). In today’s world, the hegemony is not being attained by the mean of investing into political propaganda, it traditional sense of this word – it is being simply purchased. While remaining perfectly aware of the fact that intellectually marginalized audiences pay less and less attention to the ‘boring’ news of social and political importance, Media owners have decided to take an advantage of a situation – this is exactly the reason why nowadays, the extent of a particular journalist’s professional excellence is being reflected by the degree of an emotional intensity in how he or she reports on the news in making. Just as it was the case in time of Roman Empire’s decline, the growing number of today’s consumers of news assesses these news’ relevance through the prism of an entertainment. What it means is that, as of today, the Sociological notions of journalistic ‘biasness’, ‘accuracy’, and ‘integrity’ have been largely deprived of their original semiotic significance. In its turn, this subtly implies the outdatedness of Sociological paradigm, when applied to define the true nature of journalistic activities.

Nowadays, well-established and credible journalists (with possible exception of celebrity-journalists, such as Larry King) can no longer be thought of as the representatives of a ‘fourth estate’, but rather as those who were not smart enough to consider the career of paparazzi. After all, the picture of a semi-naked movie star experiencing a hangover or ‘doing lines’, can be sold for as much as $50.000. And, it is namely the objectively existing demand for such pictures, which prompt paparazzi to harass celebrities – not their hypertrophied sense of curiosity, as many naïve people believe. In its turn, this observation substantiates the conceptual validity of Culturalist paradigm – nowadays, it is specifically cultural and demographic dynamics within post-industrial societies that define the content of the news, to which members of these societies are being exposed, and not the Media owners, as it used to be the case not long ago.

The conclusions of this paper can be summarized as follows: given the fact that multiculturalization of Western societies results in these societies’ intellectual integrity being progressively undermined (the continuous lowering of academic standards in Western universities, due to considerations of political correctness, is a well-known fact), and also the fact that the process of Globalization results in turning the whole planet increasingly ‘borderless’ and ‘flat’, it is no longer appropriate to assess the power of Medias from Sociological perspective. The quick rise of tabloid journalism to its current prominence supports the full validity of this conclusion – nowadays; reporting news does not serve the purpose of people’s informational enlightenment, but rather the purpose of providing them with entertainment and also the purpose of strengthening their irrational prejudices, in regards to life’s challenges. As Alvin Gouldner had put it: “Out of these (tabloid) stories emerges a depiction of the world which stands dramatically opposed to notions of mastery and control… individuals are made subject to fate” (Gouldner, 1976, p. 70). Whereas, the traditional (sociological) power of ‘fourth estate’ has been associated with journalists’ ability to manipulate public opinions, the post-industrial (culturalist) role of news-making appears being concerned with Medias’ tendency to discourage people from holding any political opinions, whatsoever, simply because such opinions cannot be discussed outside of contextual framework of mastery and control. Yet, the rationale-based notions of mastery and control are assumed euro-centric and therefore, socially inappropriate. After all, the enforcers of political correctness, such as Richard Tarnas, never cease trying to convince the descendants of those who had established and maintained Western civilization that: “The Western mind’s overriding compulsion to impose some form of totalizing reason – theological, scientific, and economic… is being not only self-deceptive but destructive” (Tarnas, 1991, p. 400). Thus, there are a variety of objectively existing preconditions for the way, in which today’s mainstream Media’s convey political news, to be essentially apolitical.

We believe that such our conclusion correlates with paper’s initial hypothesis rather well – the very essence of post-industrial realities, as such that are being defined by exponential progress in the field of informational technologies and biology, on one hand, and by the continuous process of Western societies’ intellectual marginalization, on the other, points out to the fact that it is specifically the application of Culturalist methodology, within the context of defining the qualitative subtleties of news-related Media content, which should be considered as the only appropriate. Thus, we do recognize a full validity of Cottle’s distinction between Sociological and Culturalist accounts of news access and source power.

Bibliography

Adcox, S. (2010). Alvin Greene upset: Mystery man stuns in South Carolina Senate primary’. The Huffington Post on the Web [On-line].
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Cottle, S. (2001) News access and source of power: Paradigms and perspectives, Unit 73 of the MA in Mass Communications (By Distance Learning). Department of Media & Communication, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
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Tarnas, R. (1991) The passion of the Western mind: Understanding the ideas that have shaped our worldview. New York: Harmony.

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Journalism: News Access and Source Power

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