Putting Broadcast News in Context

Abstract

Contextual journalism calls for depth of news reporting rather than “just the facts.” A national survey of local television (TV) journalists indicated the increasing popularity of this more comprehensive reporting form. Although news sociologists contend that local TV routines facilitate the production of quick, less substantive stories, TV respondents in the present study highly valued comprehensive, contextual news styles—even more than newspaper journalists. Building on the work of Weaver and colleagues’ “American Journalist” project, TV news workers in this survey preferred contextual roles, such as alerting the public of potential threats and acting in a socially responsible way, but also valued traditional broadcasting roles, such as getting information to the public quickly. TV news roles were compared to those of newspaper journalists to analyze how professionals in different media view their work identities.

Taking to the streets: The effects of in-the-field harassment against journalists covering protests

“…When examining print journalists, scholars found a strong adherence to the contextualist function. Similarly, the work of Abdenour et al (2018) found broadcast journalists also strongly identify with the contextualist function. In fact, scholars found broadcast journalists were more likely than print journalists to say they participate in contextual reporting.…”

Constructive Journalistic Roles in Environments of Social Complexity and Political Crisis

“…By adopting these roles, journalists can contribute to fostering a more informed and engaged citizenry, ultimately strengthening democratic societies. Some of the journalistic roles proposed by Krüger et al (2022), Hermida and Mellado (2020), Standaert et al (2019, Abdenour et al (2018Abdenour et al ( , 2021, Dahmen et al (2019), Li (2023), Thier and Namkoong (2023), Mäder and Rinsdorf (2023), Vos (2018, 2017), Ojala and Pöyhtäri (2018), Hanitzsch et al (2016), Tandoc and Peters (2015), Mellado and Dalen (2014), and Dalen et al (2012) in their investigations have been taken and expanded, and particularly, they have been reoriented towards the explanatory and constructive nature of the journalism model that has been exposed in this work. Even some journalistic functions, such as contextualization, promotion of public interest, dialogue, and understanding, as well as motivation or inspiration to action and commitment to communities and societies, are considered fundamental beyond constructive journalism or solutions.…”

“…This approach highlights the importance of contextual journalism and the influence of the roles and values of journalists in their coverage of various topics, with the public highly valuing the roles of contextual journalism, following the contributions of , Abdenour et al (2018Abdenour et al ( , 2021, Dahmen et al (2019), Li (2023), Thier and Namkoong (2023), and Mäder and Rinsdorf (2023). The roles associated with contextual reporting place high value on being socially responsible and accurately portraying the world.…”

“…The most prized function was the hybrid, which combines interpretive roles with 'just the facts' disseminator roles. Job function heavily influences attitudes toward this reporting style, with the advocate/entertainer function being the strongest overall predictor of positive attitudes toward contextual journalism genres Abdenour et al 2018).…”

Restorative narrative as contextual journalistic reporting

“…Contextual reporting is gaining momentum in newsrooms, with some journalists even subscribing primarily to “contextualist values,” such as acting socially responsible and contributing to society (Abdenour, McIntyre, & Dahmen, 2017; McIntyre, Dahmen, & Abdenour, 2018). As defined by Images & Voices of Hope (ivoh), a nonprofit media group, restorative narratives report stories of “recovery, restoration, and resilience in the aftermath, or midst of, difficult times” (Restorative Narrative, n.d., n.p.)…”