The Inferential Structure of Political Communications: A Study in Unwitting Bias

Abstract

HIS STUDY focuses on the differential structuring by three television networks of the same public event, part of the 1952 Democratic nominating convention. It is contended that the differential interpretations given the episodes by three groups of viewers reflect and were determined by an unwitting bias on the part of the telecasters which, in turn, can be attributed, in part, to differences in the telecasters' judgments of their audience.The particular period subject to intensive analysis began at 6:56 P.M. July 24 and lasted until 1:07 the next morning. The evening was one of the more exciting and complicated ones in the Democratic meeting. The analysis begins at the point during the roll call on nominations for the Presidency when Louisiana, one of the states refusing to sign the nowfamous loyalty pledge, yielded to its co-rebel Virginia for a parliamentary inquiry concerning the status of non-signers in the convention. A ruling by the chair that they might not participate was reversed after a drawnout roll call characterized by considerable vote-switching by leading delegations. All three non-conforming states were seated during the.session but not until after Senator Douglas of Illinois had started a dramatic move for adjournment, and the verbal fire had been interrupted by an honest-to-goodness fire on the floor of the convention itself. Despite the defeat of this move to adjourn, another adjournment motion was suddenly recognized and gaveled through just a little later.

Interactive Infographics and News Values

“…Journalists, it has long been argued, develop 'inferential frameworks' (Lang and Lang 1955), predicated on prevailing socio-cultural norms and developed through the course of experience in employment, which in turn informs the process of story selection, and the assembly and 'angle' of news. But as Schudson (1997) points out, this conception of the journalist tends to leave the information of which news is composed 'sociologically untouched'; as if it comes pre-prepared, rather than being subject to the process of negotiation.…”

The Sir Jimmy Savile scandal: Child sexual abuse and institutional denial at the BBC

“…The 'activation' of the slow-burning 'latent' Savile scandal followed a sensational transformation of the 'inferential structures' (Greer and Mclaughlin 2010, 2012a, 2012bLang and Lang 1955) underpinning the development of the news story. 2 We argue that, once activated, the BBC's denial of any Lang and Lang (1955) developed the concept of inferential structures to explain how the same news content could be constructed into multiple configurations, establishing selectively or partially representative frameworks of understanding -or inferential structures -within which both newsmakers and audience could knowledge of or responsibility for Savile's sexual offending triggered a 'trial by media' (Greer and Mclaughlin 2011, 2012a, 2012c which in turn initiated the next key phase in the scandal's development -'amplification'. The BBC stood accused by the UK press of being in denial not only about what it knew, but also about its role in enabling and covering-up Sir Jimmy Savile's sex crimes.…”

‘Trial by media’: Policing, the 24-7 news mediasphere and the ‘politics of outrage’

“…2 These interconnected claims infuriated an already antagonistic news media. An overwhelmingly hostile and increasingly collective journalistic reaction was instrumental in establishing the dominant 'inferential structure' (Lang and Lang, 1955) that would define Blair as 'gaffe-prone', shredding his position in the 'hierarchy of credibility' (Becker, 1967) and constituting a turning point in his…”

“…First, we review dominant conceptualisations of the 'special relationship' between the news media and the police, with a particular focus on chief police officers. We utilise two key theoretical concepts -'inferential structures' (Lang and Lang, 1955) and 'hierarchy of credibility' (Becker, 1967) which we feel are underused in current research. We suggest that, considered together, these concepts constitute a solid theoretical framework within which contemporary news media-police chief relations can be explored and understood.…”