Pack journalism

Last updated

Pack journalism is the characterization of news reporting in which reporters from different news outlets collaborate to cover the same story, leaving news reporting homogeneous. This is the practice whereby reporters use the same sources of information for their stories. This not only refers to print sources but people who provide quotes and information for stories too. When reporters need to cover a specific person for a story, these individuals will often move from place to place, and crowd together in masses at the scenes of newsworthy locations just for comments and/or quotes from individuals involved. While this is considered proper reporting, when reporters from several news outlets take the same steps to cover the same story, it leaves news virtually unvaried.

Contents

Overall, the occurrence of pack journalism is largely due to reporters' reliance on one another for news tips and use of one single source for their information (which could often even be the very subject they're covering). "Group think" occurs, as journalists are constantly aware of what others are reporting on, and an informal consensus emerges on what is newsworthy.

While pack journalism has had a presence in news reporting for quite some time, it initially gained meaning in political journalism surrounding the campaign of the 1972 Presidential election. Since then, it has continued to become more prominent in reporting and more common for news organizations.

History

The term was first coined by Timothy Crouse in response to his observation during the 1972 Nixon and McGovern presidential election. The coverage of this particular campaign was deplored in depth by Crouse in his 1973 book The Boys on the Bus. Journalists were following candidates on the campaign trail as a group, often crowding together and spending time comparing notes. While the intent was to write unique stories for respective news organizations, journalists were working together so much, it became impossible for even the most self-reliant journalists to separate their notes from others. News organizations and media outlets were taking on the role of determining who the most popular candidate was amongst the public. Crouse noted what reporters knew well was not the American electorate but the much smaller community of the press plane. Crouse felt campaign journalism is what ultimately paved the road to pack journalism. [1]

Modern pack journalism practices no longer require a physical proximity of campaign buses or shared press rooms. Journalists continue to conform to the pack from their computer screens just in monitoring and imitating other reporters online.

Consequences

Pack journalism is currently widely connected with political journalism and remains a widespread issue in reporting. Pack journalism leads to a lazier approach whereby it is not necessary for reporters to compile information on their own because other reporters have already done so. This, in turn, leads to numerous news organizations highlighting and/or publishing similar or even identical stories. While it is common for the same news event to be covered by various news organizations, when the stories are covered from the same perspectives and use the same quotes, the news is left virtually unvaried.

A significant short term consequence of pack journalism is that it turns minor news stories into national headlines. While these stories might be worthy of coverage, their widespread influence on the public causes people to lose sight of other important newsworthy stories elsewhere in the world.

A major long term consequence of this kind of journalism is that it reduces news reporting to a competition with news organizations competing over breaking stories. This results in the public missing out on other important news. Readers and viewers of news might not take this kind of reporting seriously, and they might not feel the news is a reliable source of information.

When pack journalism is connected with political journalism, there is an under-representation of minority parties that results from the media's focus on one prominent party over another. Watching and reporting on one person over and over provides viewers with one perspective on the race and leads to a shortsighted view of the campaign overall. Conformity within the news has been related to "agenda setting", which is the result of the press's influence over audiences in conveying to the people which events are important simply by covering them.

Potential positives stem from this practice, too. The individual journalist who releases a story has widespread influence, and the story, in turn, receives widespread attention. In the United States, when a reporter breaks an important story to the media, other news organizations pick it up and spread it further. This ultimately keeps stories alive, and leads to a story's impact on viewers.

Criticism

The unethical nature of pack journalism is further explored through social responsibility theory. According to the Hutchins Commission, social responsibility theory states that the press must be responsible for publishing information to the public in an honest manner. The Hutchins Commission argued that unless reliable, complete coverage of news is included in each news organization, the public would be ignorant and misled by the media – in this case, pack journalism. According to the Hutchins Commission, the five standards news organizations should meet are as follows:

  1. A truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account of the day's events in a context which gives them meaning.
  2. A forum for the exchange of comment and criticism.
  3. The projection of a representative picture of the constituent groups in the society.
  4. The presentation and clarification of the goals and values of the society.
  5. Full access to the day's intelligence

Pack journalism contradicts these recommended standards.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News media</span> Elements of mass media that focus on delivering news

The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, news channels etc.

News values are "criteria that influence the selection and presentation of events as published news." These values help explain what makes something "newsworthy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports journalism</span> Form of journalism that reports on sporting topics and competitions

Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into the 1900s transitioned into an integral part of the news business with newspapers having dedicated sports sections. The increased popularity of sports amongst the middle and lower class led to the more coverage of sports content in publications. The appetite for sports resulted in sports-only media such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN. There are many different forms of sports journalism, ranging from play-by-play and game recaps to analysis and investigative journalism on important developments in the sport. Technology and the internet age has massively changed the sports journalism space as it is struggling with the same problems that the broader category of print journalism is struggling with, mainly not being able to cover costs due to falling subscriptions. New forms of internet blogging and tweeting in the current millennium have pushed the boundaries of sports journalism.

In journalism, a source is a person, publication, or knowledge of other record or document that gives timely information. Outside journalism, sources are sometimes known as "news sources". Examples of sources include official records, publications or broadcasts, officials in government or business, organizations or corporations, witnesses of crime, accidents or other events, and people involved with or affected by a news event or issue.

Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadcast journalism</span> Field of news and journals which are broadcast

Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio, television and the World Wide Web. Such media disperse pictures, visual text and sounds.

Claims of media bias in the United States generally focus on the idea of media outlets reporting news in a way that seems partisan. Other claims argue that outlets sometimes sacrifice objectivity in pursuit of growth or profits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science journalism</span> Journalism genre

Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatekeeping (communication)</span> Filtering process in communication

Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication. The academic theory of gatekeeping may be found in multiple fields of study, including communication studies, journalism, political science, and sociology. Gatekeeping originally focused on the mass media with its few-to-many dynamic. Currently, the gatekeeping theory also addresses face-to-face communication and the many-to-many dynamic inherent on the Internet. Social psychologist Kurt Lewin first instituted Gatekeeping theory in 1943. Gatekeeping occurs at all levels of the media structure—from a reporter deciding which sources are presented in a headline story to editors choosing which stories are printed or covered. Including, but not limited to, media outlet owner and advertisers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital journalism</span> Editorial content published via the Internet

Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital journalism is debated by scholars; however, the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like storytelling stories or newsgames, and disseminated through digital media technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News bureau</span> Branch of a newspaper, newsmagazine, news broadcaster, or wire service

A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a 'Tokyo bureau' refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; 'foreign bureau' is a generic term for a news office set up in a country other than the primary operations center; a ‘Washington bureau’ is an office, typically located in Washington, D.C., that covers news related to national politics in the United States. The person in charge of a news bureau is often called the bureau chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political journalism</span> Political reporter

Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power.

Community journalism is locally-oriented, professional news coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather than metropolitan, state, national or world news.

Collaborative journalism is a growing practice in the field of journalism. One definition is "a cooperative arrangement between two or more news and information organizations, which aims to supplement each organization’s resources and maximize the impact of the content produced." It is practiced by both professional and amateur reporters. It is not to be confused with citizen journalism.

Media relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with media outlets, journalists, bloggers, and influencers to garner publicity for an organization. Typically, this means coordinating directly with the people responsible for producing the news and features in the mass media. The goal of media relations is to maximize positive coverage in the mass media without paying for it directly through advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical journalism</span>

Medical journalism is news reporting of medical news and features. Medical journalism is diverse, and reflects its audience. The main division is into (1) medical journalism for the general public, which includes medical coverage in general news publications and in specialty medical publications, and (2) medical journalism for doctors and other professionals, which often appears in peer-reviewed journals. The accuracy of medical journalism varies widely. Reviews of mass media publications have graded most stories unsatisfactory, although there were examples of excellence. Other reviews have found that most errors in mass media publications were the result of repeating errors in the original journal articles or their press releases. Some web sites, such as Columbia Journalism Review and Hippocrates Med Review, publish and review medical journalism.

Walter Robert Mears was an American journalist, author, and educator. Mears worked for the Associated Press (AP) from 1956 until his retirement in 2001. In 1977, he won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his coverage of the 1976 United States presidential election. After retirement, he taught journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Duke University.

The code of ethics in media was created by a suggestion from the 1947 Hutchins Commission. They suggested that newspapers, broadcasters and journalists had started to become more responsible for journalism and thought they should be held accountable.

Racial biases are a form of implicit bias, which refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect an individual's understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass unfavorable assessments, are often activated involuntarily and without the awareness or intentional control of the individual. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness. Police officers have implicit bias, regardless of their ethnicity. Racial bias in criminal news reporting in the United States is a manifestation of this bias.

This glossary of journalism is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in journalism, its sub-disciplines, and related fields, including news reporting, publishing, broadcast journalism, and various types of journalistic media.

References

  1. Zelizer, Julian (September 8, 2010). "How Much Do We Learn From the First Cut of History?". www.thenation.com.