Television Journalism: (Journalism Studies: Key Texts)

"Amidst the glut of studies on new media and the news, the enduring medium of television finally gets the attention it deserves. Cushion brings television news back into perfect focus in a book that offers historical depth, geographical breadth, empirical analysis and above all, political significance. Through an interrogation of the dynamics of and relations between regulation, ownership, the working practices of journalism and the news audience, Cushion makes a clear case for why and how television news should be firmly positioned in the public interest. It should be required reading for anyone concerned with news and journalism." - Natalie Fenton, Goldsmiths, University of London "An admirably ambitious synthesis of journalism scholarship and journalism practice, providing a comprehensive resource of historical analysis, contemporary trends and key data." - Stewart Purvis, City University and former CEO of ITN Despite the democratic promise of new media, television journalism remains the most viewed, valued and trusted source of information in many countries around the world. Comparing patterns of ownership, policy and regulation, this book explores how different environments have historically shaped contemporary trends in television journalism internationally. Informed by original research, Television Journalism lays bare the implications of market forces, public service interventions and regulatory shifts in television journalism′s changing production practices, news values and audience expectations. Accessibly written and packed with topical references, this authoritative account offers fresh insights into the past, present and future of journalism, making it a necessary point of reference for upper-level undergraduates, researchers and academics in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication and media studies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Introducing Television Journalism: Sustaining Its Influence into the Twenty-First Century ′Death of TV News… Much Exaggerated′: A Story of Declining Television Audiences but Signs of a Revival? The Scope of the Book The Role of News in Television Culture: Current Debates and Practices in Contemporary Journalism Television and the Public Sphere: Journalism in a Multi-Channel Environment Scheduling Wars: Locating Television News in an Increasingly Entertainment-Based Medium (Re)Shaping Television Journalism: Public and Commercial Models of Broadcasting Changing Times, Changing Values: Television News′s Shifting Values and Conventions Towards a Post-Broadcasting Culture? Television News and Media Convergence HISTORY AND CONTEXT From Radio to Television: Making Sense of Broadcasting History The Birth of Broadcasting: Creating National Broadcast Ecologies Making Sense of Television: Reshaping News Journalism Deregulating Broadcast Structures: Towards a Commercial News Environment TRENDS IN TELEVISION JOURNALISM Redefining What′s Newsworthy: Towards 24-Hour News Values and Conventions? News values: what makes television journalism distinctive? The Arrival and Impact of 24-Hour News Channels: Three Phases of Global Television Journalism Live, Rolling News Drama: Empirical Endeavours into 24-Hour News Conventions Interrupting the News for what Purpose? Exposing the Myth of Breaking News The Systemic Impact of Rolling News Journalism: Towards 24-Hour News Values and Audience Expectations? The Rise of Partisan News Consumption: Towards a Polarization of Television Journalism and Audiences? Network News in Retreat: A New Era of Political Journalism? News Audiences Go Political: Which Television Channels Are People Watching and Why? Letting the Fox off the Leash: The Relaxation of the Fairness Doctrine and the ′Foxification′ of Television News Redefining Political News Journalism: Blurring the Lines between News and Comedy Making Sense of Comedy News: Scholarly Readings into ′Popular′ Political Programming Keeping the Fox on a Leash: Towards the Polarisation of News Audiences beyond the US? Reporting the Politics of Devolved Nations: Towards More Localized Television News? Localised News, National Media: Sustaining Journalism Locally Four Nations, One Union: Devolving Politics without Devolving National Media Ecologies Reflecting the Four Nations? The King Report and Television Coverage of Devolved Politics Market Deficit, Public Service Requirement: The BBC Trust and the Impact of Interventionist Regulation Challenging ′Light-Touch′ Orthodoxy: Towards more Evidence-Driven Interventionist Re-Regulation JOURNALISTS AND SCHOLARS Entering the Profession: Who Are Television Journalists? Who Are Television Journalists: A Professional or Occupational Pursuit? A Face for Television? Gender and Ethnic Minority Status amongst Journalists Educating or Training? Towards an Increasingly Middle-Class Graduate-Led Occupation Distinguishing between News Sources: Which Journalists and Journalism Do Audiences Trust? Putting Television News Centre Stage: The Past, Present and Future Shape of Journalism Scholarship£ Introduction: Studying ′Journalism′ Television Journalism Scholarship: The Formative Years (Re)prioritising ′Old′ above ′New′ Media: Why Online Journalism Is Punching above Its Democratic Weight New Directions in Television News Studies: The Future of Journalism Studies

About the Author :
Stephen Cushion is a lecturer at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK. He is the Deputy Director of the MA in Journalism, Media and Communications and Political Communications programmes. Stephen’s research addresses many overlapping areas in journalism, political communication and media studies. He is currently writing a book provisionally titled The Democratic Value of News: Why public service journalism matters around the world (2012, Palgrave MacMilan) and has co-edited The Rise of 24-Hour News Television: Global Perspectives (with Justin Lewis 2010, Peter Lang), published widely in leading international, peer reviewed journals – Javnost: The Public, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, Journal of Youth Studies, Representation: The Journal of Representative Democracy, Journal of Public Affairs, Cyfrwng: Media Wales Journal, Media & Jornalismo and Nordic Journal of Youth Research: Young – and produced book chapters in Journalism After September 11 (2002 and 2011, Routledge), Political Communications: The General Election Campaign of 2005 (2007, Palgrave MacMilan) and Local Journalism and Local Media: Making the Local News (2006, Routledge). Stephen has carried out quantitative and qualitative research for organisations such as the BBC, Electoral Commission, Nuffield Foundation, BBC Trust and The department for Communities and Local Government leading to the production of a number of industry related publications that have contributed to debates about journalism practice and policy making.

Review :
Stephen Cushion has done a great service by writing this sweeping, timely and provocative volume on television journalism. Cushion has devoured the relevant literature on journalism with the rabid intensity of a starving wolf left alone in a meat market. With tight focus and superb organization, Cushion has produced a remarkably coherent book that covers every important topic in the field today. Television Journalism is going to be mandatory reading for students, journalists, policymakers and scholars going forward Robert W. McChesney University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign An admirably ambitious synthesis of journalism scholarship and journalism practice, providing a comprehensive resource of historical analysis, contemporary trends and key data Stewart Purvis Professor of Television Journalism, City University and former CEO of ITN Amidst the glut of studies on new media and the news, the enduring medium of television finally gets the attention it deserves. Cushion brings television news back into perfect focus in a book that offers historical depth, geographical breadth, empirical analysis and above all, political significance. Through an interrogation of the dynamics of and relations between regulation, ownership, the working practices of journalism and the news audience, Cushion makes a clear case for why and how television news should be firmly positioned in the public interest. It should be required reading for anyone concerned with news and journalism Natalie Fenton Professor of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths This is a wide-ranging and informative comparison of television journalism and news in the United Kingdom and the United States. It includes valuable information from both countries on the role of TV news in television culture, the history of radio and television, the development of TV news, the changing political and economic environments for TV journalism, changing news values, profiles and studies of TV journalists, and new directions for TV journalism in the coming years. It also includes numerous tables on TV audiences, journalists′ salaries, ethnic minorities in TV journalism, media journals, and top news web sites, as well as an extensive bibliography of papers, articles, and books about TV news. It is the most comprehensive and informative book on this subject that I have seen to date David H. Weaver Distinguished Professor and Roy W. Howard Research Professor, School of Journalism, Indiana University-Bloomington U.S.A Writing about media in the 21st century can be compared to photographing a football match while riding a carousel: both the target and the ground are moving. Steven Cushion′s extensive effort to pin down the relevance of television news in the new media environment therefore is a commendable achievement. Television Journalism (part of the SAGE series Journalism Studies: Key Texts) provides readers with a detailed and valuable empirical portrait of an industry in transition... Television Journalism delivers, quite completely, on what it promises: an in-depth examination of its subject′s history and political economy, the education of its practitioner, and the medium′s 21st-century challenges. For readers in need of a broad picture of television news internationally, its history, regulation and tine, Television Journalism proves invaluable. This carefully crafted, empirical work provides its readers with a solid, large-scale view of television news and its role in democracy. By staying ′wide′, as photographers say and working with the big picture, Cushion has managed to hit his moving target while riding the carousel that is today′s media environment. Mary Angela Bock Journalism