“To Me, There’s Always a Bias”: Understanding the Public’s Folk Theories About Journalism

Advancing a qualitative turn in news media trust research

“…By employing a constructivist approach in the UK context, they discovered that distrust in the news entails also a refusal to collude with stereotyped depictions conveyed by news media, which implies a disengagement from a certain vocabulary for constructing social meaning. Relying on the folk theories framework and focusing on the US context, Wilner et al (2021) found that while their focus group participants "articulated a desire for active journalists to provide evidence for the larger truths in a story, they also seem to seek a more passive approach, as they perceived a story as biased if it contained facts or context they perceived as unnecessary" (12). In short, they described a kind of journalism that seems impossible to achieve but that gains meaning when seen from the interviewees' perspectives (see also Nelson & Lewis, 2021).…”

“…Relying on the folk theories framework and focusing on the US context, Wilner et al. (2021) found that while their focus group participants “articulated a desire for active journalists to provide evidence for the larger truths in a story, they also seem to seek a more passive approach, as they perceived a story as biased if it contained facts or context they perceived as unnecessary” (12). In short, they described a kind of journalism that seems impossible to achieve but that gains meaning when seen from the interviewees' perspectives (see also Nelson & Lewis, 2021).…”

Rollin’ papers: Newspaper coverage of cannabis legalization in Canada

“…Much of the framing literature identifies that newspapers and news media can evoke strong emotional responses from their audiences while reinforcing stereotypes and guiding the perceptions and understandings of an issue (Islam & Fitzgerald, 2016). Popular media—newspapers, television, websites, and social media—act as critical sources of information and play essential roles in shaping opinion (Kim & Kim, 2018; Wilner et al, 2021). These forms of media often reach a much wider audience and communicate in a more appropriate language than academic research, policy briefs, or legislation (Hallin & Mellado, 2018; Kim & Kim, 2018; McGinty et al, 2016).…”

„Neutral vermitteln“ oder „ermächtigend berichten“? Strukturelle Unterschiede von journalistischem Rollenselbstverständnis und bevölkerungsseitigen Erwartungen

“…Gleichwohl beinhaltete es stets schon eine relationale Komponente, enthält also "Spuren eines Publikums", von Publikumsbildern und erwarteten Publikumserwartungen (Loosen & Schmidt 2017). Mediennutzende wiederum haben immer schon Vorstellungen da rüber, was sie von journalistischen Angeboten erwarten (können), und (mehr oder we niger prononcierte) Erwartungen, welche Funktion Journalismus in der Gesellschaft erfüllen sollte und welche Rollen Journalist*innen ausfüllen sollten (Prochazka & Schweiger 2020;Wilner, Montiel Valle & Masullo 2021). Dieser Beziehungsaspekt hat sich nicht verändert.…”