Making the Choice“Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and

commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of

show business, largely without protest or even much popular

notice. The result is that we are a people on the verge of

amusing ourselves to death.”

-Neil Postman

Hard News vs. Soft News

Hard News

Focuses on facts

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Soft News

• Sensational, personality oriented, less time-bound

Focuses on drama, human-interest themes, trivial stories

Emphasis on conflict, emotion, evocative visual imagery, interpersonal interaction

Disproportionate interest in celebrity, sports, lifestyle topics

Celebration of newscasters as marketable personalities

Communication Revolutions

Launch of the First US TV Satellite (1968)

• Transmissionof stories is faster and more widespread

Printing Press (1830)

• Rise of the Penny Press and Yellow Journalism

The Internet

• Abundance of information and news sources

• Audience as content producer

• Popularity of citizen journalism

Portable Video Camera Technologies

• Stories can be filmed remotely

• Ability to cover breaking stories Live

• Leads to competition among networks

Communication Revolutions

Making the Choice: Theories

Uses and Gratifications

People have the desire to be entertained

People want to escape from stressful, depressing realities

Agenda Setting

Use of celebrities to attract younger audiences that have lost interest in

traditional journalism

Rise of Politainment – celebrity involvement in politics that capitalizes on

popularity to affect voting decisions

Blurs the understanding of political reality

Effects on the News Media

The media landscape is fragmented

The emergence of new types of media and technologies have created an

overwhelming number of news sources for consumers

The news media is polarized

The market-driven nature of the industry makes it easy for media

organizations to capitalize on niche demographics

As a result, it is easier for people to find the

information they WANT instead of the information

they NEED.

Who is the Audience?

Characteristics of people who prefer soft news:

• Inattentive

Not engaged with politics and therefore don’t seek information through

hard news sources

Homogenous in beliefs with a lack of minority representation, which can

lead to isolationism

Effects of Choice

Soft News serves as an alternative that:

• Reinforces existing beliefs

Simplifies information just enough to inform political attitudes and voting

behavior

Encourages audiences to judge stories based on morals instead of factual

analysis

Uses propaganda techniques to create a sense of urgency about issues

Creates an atmosphere of good vs. evil as a framework for thinking about

issues

Effects of Choice

Soft News makes the public more cynical

• People believe that news has gotten worse, more sensational and more

depressing

• The rise of infotainment news shows focus more on entertainment than

political strategy

• People question the credibility of journalism

But it may have some benefits

• It connects politics with popular culture and gives the public a place within

politics

• It serves as a checks and balance system for an increasingly polarized news

media

• It diversifies the news audience by at least raising awareness of issues

among the inattentive public

Effects of Choice