An Introduction To The Uses And Diffusion Of The News

An Introduction to the Uses and Diffusion of the News

What are the ways audiences use the mass media, and what are the gratifications they receive from that usage? What functions do soap operas provide for the audience? Theories and research dealing with these questions are presented in the first chapter of the text. The second chapter concerns how knowledge of news is diffused throughout society, followed by how adoption of new innovations is spread. Research on the Knowledge Gap, as well as the diffusion of public opinion and the Spiral of Silence, is presented. The final two chapters concern Cultivation Theory and how fear is cultivated in children and adults by both entertainment shows and the news. Strategies for reducing such fear are presented. Media also cultivate beliefs about society, such as perceptions of the amount of crime and risk in society, environmental concerns, marital expectations, and attitudes toward racism and homosexuality. A section on International Cultivation is included.

Practicing Convergence Journalism

Preface: what is new about today's news audiences -- What's old is new, what's new is old; Text box: what is newsworthy; Text box: Las Vegas Sun -- Eight elements of a news story and the tools to build it; Text box: GlobalPost.com -- Sources and background information: reporting before the reporting; Text box: my five tips for more focused searches; Text box: U.S. courts basics; Text box: Storify.com -- Sources and background information: reporting before the reporting; Text box: Twitter on the beat -- Law & ethics: reporting rules of the road; Text box : trust but verify; Text box : Storify.com -- Building the spot single story; Text box: types of leads; Text box: story types; Text box: breaking news and making connections -- Capturing context and tone: using words, pictures and/or sound; Text box : practicing convergence in sports -- Packaging the story: the daily wrap; Text box : the story is dead, long live the story; Text box : the print or text story; Text box: the radio script; Text box: the video script -- The multimedia story: how to help audiences get what they want; Text box: Andy Carvin and curating news -- Feature or enterprise news stories; Text box: what makes someone a good profile subject; Text box: the Christian science monitor -- Digital storytelling: design and data -- Law and ethics: producing and disseminating news.

An Introduction to the Uses and Diffusion of the News