Newszak and news media - Bob Franklin

In an increasingly competitive market, the pressures on news media to win readers and viewers has generated a new journalism with revised editorial priorities. News is becoming part of the entertainment industry, preferring stories which interest the public to those that are in the public interest. Investigative journalists are increasingly being replaced by celebrity columnists and presenters, and 'infotainment' is rampant. News journalism is moving away from providing a forum for informed debate of key issues, and the explosion of newszak raises significant questions about the role of news media in a mature democracy.



This is the first comprehensive examination of how developments in the organisation, financial structures and regulation of news media, combined with changes in journalism's composition and news-gathering practices, have resulted in shifting editorial standards in newspapers, radio and television. The book looks at recent developments in the profession of journalism including the recent growth in freelance work, the precarious position of editors, and the absent voices of women and black journalists. At the same time, it provides a detailed consideration of the historical development of national and regional news media, exploring issues of media ownership and the impact of new technologies on news gathering and reporting. The book concludes by examining journalism's revised editorial priorities and developments in media regulation, and offers detailed case studies of press coverage of the Princess of Wales set against declining news media reporting of Parliamentary and political affairs.