MAKING
NEWS
A Study in
_the Construction of Reality
Gaye Tuchman
THE FREE PRESS AB
i Inc,
Co. ___CHAPTER ONE
News as Frame _
ndow on the world. Through
res and others, of their own i
rame, Americans learn
‘ions, leaders, and life
whether the glass is opaque or clear, whether the windew faces a
street or a backyard. The unfolding scene also depends upon where
concerns. It does not consider newsworkers as.
1 that people want, need,
bh circulate and shape
knowledge. As studi q and Shaw, 1972) have indi-
cated, the news media play an important rol
news consumers’ opinions on topics about which they are
For example, when a rash of pockmarl
3
that news imparts to occurrences their
ms mere happenings into publicly dis-
‘seminated by the town crier was gossip as.a form of knowledge. But,
Park continued, increased urbanization decreased the ability of a 4 MAKING NEWS News ax Frame 3
fom eta hat fais ine ancion. Fo news man mutzion mae co ‘American newspapers are inextr a
tomers te leara about the sacial weeld. The term “organization” generally refers to ral
esiainheecas. mare posters of contemporary China, Both take social and cultural ce
‘complies social ‘Complea cepanications are, though, begitimated sia ae tur them into public property: Jack Kennedy and 6 MAKING NEWS: News as/Frame f
Jack of beanstalk fame are both cultural myths, although one lived ‘one spouse may say to the other, "De you remember that day when
and the other did not. Drawing on cultural conventions, members of Joe said X in the department meeting?"* The day has been trans-
‘Western societies impose distinctions between stories about the twa formed from any day to"*the day Joe said X," much as the story the
men that obscure their shared features of public character and social parent and child negotiated may become the “story about the good
onstruction. tine girl” that may be told and retold on other occasions.
‘One can quickly imagine the social construction of fairy tales by ‘Just as it is possible la imagine alternate plots and endings to
conceiving of the interaction between parent and child as a parent re- stories produced for and with childres, so, 100, we can imagine al-
sponds to a child's demand for a story. When the childd objects to a ternative ways for the professor to organize (frame} the strip of an-
turn of the plot, the parent alters it. When the child smiles, the ‘going occurrences that constituted her day as cvents to be produced
parent may elaborate the theme being developed, We claim that the as news, In the version produced above, both particulars were di-
[parent tells the story, without admitting how much the child is an ac- rectly experienced; they were within her immediate spatial and tem-
‘ive participant in the story's construction. poral grasp.’ But by selecting them, she necessarily excluded other
Similarly, by imagining a conversation, we can see how making itemsin the strip-of ongoing experience from her tale of the day.
news is a negotiated enterprise. Take the following example,” Arriv- Consider some items the professor may have omitted, She could
ing home after a day's work, a professor is asked by her husband, not have related happenings pertinent to her work but as yet um
“How was your day?” That day was composed of many details known to her. Suppose that two such inaccessible conversations had
(“particulars”). One answer might be, "When I drove home, 1 ‘occurred that day’. It one, the university's president and provost had
‘caught each of the three traffic Eights on the main road when it was discussed firing younger faculty members in order to mest economic
irreen.” Making all three green lights may be a rare accurrence of exigencies, In the second, a student hired a friend so write a term
igreat interest to the driver who keeps track of such details in her life. paper to fulfill the requirements of the professor's course. Held be-
[Bat it may not be an acceptable topic of conversational interaction. hind closed doors, neither conversation coald be related at that mo-
‘The questioner may become exasperated that his inquiry was slighted iment as news of the day, although each may eventually be pertinent
by being given such a picayune response. He may repeat the inquiry to her life, She may get fired, or discover and decide to fail the plagi-
to learn what really happened that day. He may take the answer as arizing stodent.
indicative of the tenor of the day: “"You mean it was a good day; ‘Second, the professor could not have included as news par-
everything went well."" Alternatively, the professor called upon to ticular items or details in her strip of activity that she did not notice.
describe the day may seize upon a particular item of Interest to her Drivers do not customarily register characteristics of ather cars as
uestioner: “"You know that soo-of-a-bitch Joe? Jus listen to what facts to remember. Thus she did not state, “Three other cars also
"This exampi expand wpom an instance described im Matatch (1978, mim. ' MAKING NEWS:
seem minor. But these same issues may be raised regarding the pro-
duction of news by professionals in formal organizations:
1 Bevem ares smbedded in strips of ongoing activity come
f a
Provost, oF those with less power, the students.)
3. Are some items not noticed because they are twken for granted as
aspects of the social world?
4, Are some items not noticed because of newsworkers' perspectives
News as Frame 8
as professionals, their trained incapacity?
5. How scan individuals and organizations process information
about the social world if cach particular is considered as an idic-
syncratic phenomenon?
To answer these questions, I draw on data collected at four field
sites,
‘The Field Sites
‘The data were gathered by participant observation and inter-
views over a period of ten years.
‘Site One: During the academic year 1966-1967, 1 spent at least one
day a week observing news processes at NEWS, a pervdonym for a
television station in Seabord City, a metropolitan area and a major
television market, From Jui ont ho? Ses | somtinnet ot
ly network programming, sydicated movies, and reruns. Aside
from news and public affairs, its in-house production inchaded only
a children’s show and a monthly variety hour,
Although the size of the news staff varied according to the
length and number of programs produced, the core group included
twenty-six men:* seven eeporters (including anchormenp, six writers, 10 MAKING NEWS
one editing supervisor, two editing technicians, six cameramen, two-
managing editors, one assignment editor, and two directors. (L have
omaitted other technical and executive personnel with whom | did not
‘come into regular contact.) For & few months the station also had a
‘woman reporter, who resigned, claiming sexism,
ployed about twenty general, beat, and bureau reporters and rewrite
‘men {not counting the culture writers, the education editor, the Sun-
day paper's staff, and the stafft of che sports, financial, and
er, whom I encountered in the course of observing editorial work,
and with the staff of the Sunday paper, Avat the television station, I
warched the process of assigning tasks, sat in om editatial discus-
Brocess as though in were independent. Although I preferred watch-
ing a story from its assignment to its printing, I found daily research
from 8:00.4.M, until 2:00 4.94, much to arduous a task.
‘News as Frame i
(ten women in all), and I stopped interviewing when | was not given
any New names to contact. Some of the interviews lasied ax long as
an hour and a half, The reporters’ comments upheld thase offered
by members of Seaboard City Daily's women's. page with whom f
had chanted sporadically and informally during coverage of election,
returns,
[also spoke with leaders of the New York feminist movement.
‘These were mot formal inverviews, Rather, | encountered these
‘women in the course of my nonprofessional activities, and the topis
‘of pews coverage of the movement inevitably arse. ‘The most exten-
sive conversations were with Betty Friedan, whom 1 drave from
‘Queens to Manhattan onct a week during the 1975 spring semester
My colleague Cynthia Epstein contribuied recollections over infor-
mal dinners, Ti-Grace Atkinson recalled early news coverage as we
der assistance. Other carly and still active feminists contributed in
formation about coverage of social movements, as did Barrie
Thorne, when she was researching the antiwar movement and | was
observing news peacessing in Seaboard City.
‘Site Four: The New York City Hall Press Room was the last research
site, There I observed the nine-person reportorial staff (including:
‘one woman) of a daily newspaper with a much larger circulation
‘than the Seaboard City Daily, as well as that newspaper's beat pho-
‘ographers, and other reporters and photographers in the room, rep-
was concentrating, five had desks in the basement, as did several re- a MAKING NEWS News a5 Frame a
ort from a competing newopaper and a thevsion newsvorke.) formation that must then be winnowed and ‘weeded. Most impor
was also hampered by the reporters” reticence to discuss and disclose tant, though, to process. these items, news organizations have objec
. -
heir sources. Nonetheless, although | am not wholly satisfied with tified deadlines and created rhythms of work. Using their past
his st of observations, it does complement my earlier (1969) cone! experiences wi folding of news events, newsworkers have
sions about newework, and ea | have drawn upon it to writ ‘created classifications of newsworthy occurrences. These classifica-
boolk. Indeed, as is well known amang participant observers, the dif ions influence the assigament of newsworthiness to occurrences
Aeulics one escoumters provide Insights Into the activities being hey also reduce the idiosynerasy of occurrences as the raw material
ofnews,
With the exorption of New York City reporters and editors who But. chapter 4 notes, the classifications still leave room for a
‘covered the women’s movement and who gave permission for thcir great deal of reportorial flexibility. And, although the stories them=
shames to be used, all names of newsworkers are fictitious. selves are edited and so supervised, other aspects of reportorial work
are relatively unsupervised. As professionals, ee
‘with colleagues in their own news organizations
Plan of the Book ‘other organizations about coverage of specific stories and about ap-
‘propriate news practices. These negotiations include the sharing and
‘The theme that the act of making news is the act of constructing hoarding of both information and sources.
reality itself rather than al picture of reality runs throughout this Ulimaiely, chapter $-argues, news sources and facts are mutual
book, Newswork transforms occurrences into news events. It draws ly constituting, for the news net identifies some sources and institu-
‘88 aspects of everyday life to tell stories, and it presents us to our. tions as the appropriate location of facts and dismisses others. Addi:
selves. By accomplishing this serood task, il serves as m bacis for tionally, news practices create quasi-legitimated leaders to serve as
social action. But the process ef making news fs not accomplished sources when legitimated leaders are not available to generate facts.
‘void, and so a second theme is that professionalism serves organ. Chapter 5 pays particular attention to reportorial methods of
izational interests by reaffirming the institutional processes in which creating a “web of facticity"” in order to maintain the credibility of
newswork is embedded." news. And it explains how the web of facticity begitimates tbe status
0
_ Chapters 2 andl 3 intrexhace both themes by looking ai the most quo.
a ispersion of ‘Chapter 6-cxamines the representational style of the web of fac~
icity by closely analyzing news film. It discusses both specific shots
i
tions place reporters in order to find occurrences that can be trans: and narrative structures. It also examines how those shots and nat
formed into news stories. It examines the bureaucratic chains of atives are differentially applied to natural disasters, riots, demon-
uthority developed to keep track of occurrences, the negotiation of ‘rations, and legitimated leaders. Additionally, chapter 6 looks at
overlapping responsibilities, and the negotiated selection of the news how television presents reporters as impartial and neutral arbiters of
of the day. These collective negotiations, Larguc, assign the attribute social reality. It alsa explains how professional practices of handling
of “newsworthiness” to everyday occurrences. film meet organizational needs.
Chapter 3 examines newsworkers, news organizations, ard the Many of these themes—professionalism, organizational rou-
social arrangement of time. 1 notes that the dispersion of reporters tines, and ties to legitimated instirutions—are drawn together in
to find enough items to fill the news product creates a glut af in- chapter 7. This fa consideration of coverage of the women's move:
“The tks and specific aver ment, demonstrating the simultaneous institutionalization of that
asthe, Fer atsany na evans ees may sae sal thes movement and the development of reporting om it. It pays particular
‘Str eer, Unle oherwine speci, | flow the wage and pact of the attention to the professional blinders and organizational constraints
that first dismissed the movement and later transformed its radical “ MAKING NEWS
issues into a reformist thrust. The chapter stresses how the women's PTER TWO
‘movement Was creaied as a news topic. _ CHAPTER TWO _ =a
Chapter ® adds a historical dimension by its consideration of
seat hates teal Pace sree _ Space and the
challenge posed by nineteenth-century capitalism to-colopial mercan- N t
tilism. Subsequent developments link news professionalism and news ews €
Organizations to the emergence of corporate capitalism. The chapter —
also considers freedom of the press as a legitimation af owners’ and
professionals’ independent claims 10 freedom of speech. Apd finally,
it suggests that these claims, like routine news practices, constinute
news us an ideology—a means not to know, a means 19 obfuscate
and so to legitimate the intertwining of political and corporate ac-
tivity
‘Chapter 9 reviews the stance toward social actors maintained by
interpretive saciologies in aeder to understand how everyday prac-
“I ircumstances beyond our control, nothing new happened
iar {thd 30 CBS is canceling tonight's Evening News. Walter
Cronkite will return tomorrow—if something interesting happens.
‘This hypothetical announcement or one like it mighs be beard in an
imaginary socal system that defined news by objective nations of
iminediacy." Tobe diseminate in such aystem, a news story mig
for chapter 10, which offers conclusions and a thearetical discussion Dave fo Be mensared apatnt satiation of importance, e-
‘of news as knowledge. Chapter 10 compares news to other kinds of nificance, and interest. For i ie might
‘knowledge, particularly in the natural and social sciences. It assesses
the claims of news to facticity against the backdtop of recent
developments in the philosophy of social science. I propose a the-
‘retical formulation of news as 4 social construction and a social re-
Professionals toarbitrate knowledge and to present factual accounts, “ :
news logitimates the status qua. daily summaries of events akin to our daily newspapers, but reports
ovbco (197%) attempts to deseribe criteria definiog immediacy ax a hey 00
Amencan joarnabiin, 1s bt MAKING NEWS. ‘Space and the News Net 0
Provided to the general populace omit key items that would receive “The requirement of disseminating news to- meet financial agree-
iments is a relatively new phenomenon, The town crier did mot have
to rattle aff information continuously so that Ine could take a break
while a colleague lauded “the pause that refreshes."" Nor did the
earliest American newsletters print ads, although they did carry in-
formation of commerical value, Colonial papers competed ficrecly
to carry stories of ships’ arrivals and to list the goods in the ships"
holds. Boys stationed on hills overlooking s harbor would pass the
In the American context, the cancellation of a network news alert to waiting rowboats, which would go out to gather the informa-
Program or the puiblication of blank: columns due to a dearth of news tion (Mott, 1982: 62). Publication was frequently sporadic, depend
is improbable simply because the news media claim to sell news ing on the arrival of a ship from England bearing goods and stories
‘They insistently identify news as their primary concern, even though ‘of Emgtish politics,
news consumers may find the ads more lively than the stories Early ningteenth-century newspapers did mot carey ads either.
(McLuhan, 1964), and even though the ads, not the consumers, sub- Published more regularly, generally at weekly newsletters, these were
sidize the product and account for the profit. Publishers of major firmly attached to political parties, purchased by subscription, and
‘American dailies claim to ignore the cost of gathering storics (Sigal, circulated among a party's members. Their columns were filled with
1973) and decry the recent practice of television stations to search for what we would now call news analyses, including scurrilous attacks
an entertaining format for presenting news in order to attract adver 00 opposition leaders. Designed for the urban elite, newspaper sub-
tising dollars by building a larger audience,’ Yet, all news media scriptions were too expensive for laborers and average men."
‘must sill provide stories, if only to have material to: sandwich be- Another characteristic of these early American papers ix of
tween money-producing as. On Saturday, newspapers must have general theoretic interest: theis dependence upon central sites. The
snoagh information on hand to fill the news columns of ad-cranxmed town crier could pass 09 news because he gathered items while nak-
‘Sunday editions. On days when there are fewer ads (especially week- ing his rounds. The earliest newsletters were put out by postmasters,
days between Christmas and February 1), editors may have to dis- harbor masters, aed an occasional proprietor of a general store. The
card information that might have been printed oa 4 Sunday. Similar. locations ef these publishers were social foci for the exchange of
ly, television's evening news must fill a prespecified amount of air information. The importance of central sites to the gathering of news
time day in and day out to justify the time devoted to commercials. ‘was increased and refined by the intreduction of ads to newspapers.
‘The Berkeley radio station could cancel its midnight mews precisely ‘Thee first newspaper designed for “the common an,"" the New:
because it carried no ads, Nor was it locked into a rigid schedule of York Sun, appeared in 1833, Drawing 02 advances in print tech-
Programs, as are, for instance, public broadcasting stations, These nology, it sold for a penny and was subsidized by advertisements for
ations set up their programming schedules in advance and must Patent medicines and the wares of carly (prato-) department stores.
Meet programming obligations to corporate underwriters, among Geared to a new audience whose attention could be sold 10 adver-
others. sess, the Sum redefined news. It retained some political reports,
{Postal egulatioas lit the proportion af advertiements a tewiguger may car though they were neither as partisan ner as sophisticated as those of
‘3 ill eaiy for expemie main rates. The Federal Communkaons Com- the earl press, written for the wealthy and educated mer~
a mee eae eae chants, reduced human interest stories and accounts of sensa-
"Nase, ore Finds the same pattern of providing eatetainmeat vo increase
‘easershipin the interucty competitive ciculsion aes ofthe 180s. nod, «coma “Dhngnlrsichined even if they weve propery vers (Ryan, 1973), women were
strip characcer, "The Yellow Rid.” frond the name applied to newapapes of thas ‘sousidered irrelevant to polite peocewes, Inching party poli mal ESE COR
Peri, yellow journalism “amotio. 18 MAKING NEWS
tional and shocking events. The emphasis was upon telling stories."
‘De Fleur reports that the Sum carriod
news the man in the street found exciting, entertaining ot amusing.
‘As more popular newspapers joined the Sun, competition for
items suitable for storytelling increased. Seeking the sensational,
reporters left the office to find news in the city. Unlike the
Postmaster and harbor mauier, they could not depend upon mews
‘coming to them, especially because they published daily, not weekly.
‘urban masses. There, reporters might hope to learn systemaricafly of
occurrences that could be shaped 10 fit and thus eo define the emerg-
{ng conception of popular news.
‘Theimportance of systematic location can be traced through the
subsequent history of news in the United States. The social impetus
of carly muckrakers at the turn of the twentieth century was mur
ured by stints of reporting the happenings at night court. Equally
important, the location of a central source of information facilitates
contemporary newswork, Mark Fichman (1977) describes the dilem-
ma of a comtemporary small-town reporter trying to ascertain the
damage from a California fire. It is impossible 10 assess the total
value of destroyed property by contacting those made homeless. Pre~
cisely because they are now homeless, they are difficult to locate. It is
time consuming and therefore inefficient to contact every insurance
company in the area ta ask abou claims filed. Hur the insurance
companies must all report their claims to a central agency. Locating
the central agency means locating. data deemed essential t0 the pro-
duction of news in the most expeditious manner.
‘Space and the News Net e
‘The Centralization of News Gathering
Increased competition for advertising revenues attained by
building circulation led the news media to develop cenvralized
sources of information much Hike umbilical cords connecting: the
newsroom to its sources of sustenance. To attract new readers and
also to steal readers from one another, the aineteenth-cemtury Popu-
lar press sought scoops—stories readers would want to know about
i fl mail or 10
potentially significant events such as Civil War battles 10:
telegraph their stories to the home office. Staniey"s search for Dr.
‘Livingston oa behalf of a Loadon newspaper is a famous British ex-
‘arnple of this phenomenoo. Economically marginal papers could not
gage in such practices.
nea aced with intense competition, limited telegraph service, and
high ielegraph rates, and fearful that the telegraph company could
the practice of selling dispatches to out-of-town newspapers, ike the
[Baltimore Sure, hungry {or inereased coverage. Gradually they sest
reporters to more distant places to gather information for member
papers and clients, such as the Philadelphia Ledger, subscribing to
their dispatch service. Meanwhile, papers that could not buy Assocl-
ated Press services starved for distant news or used less reliable ser~
viees founded after the AP. The rapid establishment of other agen
cies (described by Grating, 1940) testified to the fierce competition
to feed the news columns hunger. » MAKING NEWS ‘Space and the News Net a
Some of these agencies were owned by a particular newspaper scriptions, bureaus, and beats, might be seen as a smaller spider's
chain, others were cooperative et efforts. Some were based on posting web, spreading outward from a central office. Together, all these
information among participating newspapers, others on sabscrip- ‘webs claim to “blanket the world to feed the hunger for news.
ter, tesify to the growth of centralication as a method af getting as
‘much information as possible for the minimal investment possible Wicca Woeadbet
‘Together, these wire services eventually formed a worldwide net, ee ‘oreeaa rear
captusing cocurrences im their mesh. Today they are the primary s0a-
nectives between the news media and the world they claim to There is a significant difference between the capacity of a
blanket, for the services” bureaus—amalgamized beats—supposedly blanket and that of a net to gather fodder for daily newspaper
ferret out news staries. columns and television air time. Each arrangement may capture
‘Two news practices symbolize the key position of the wire ser- fresh information daily, thus confirming and reinforcing the old
vices as feeders to the media, The first is a professionally frowacd fe
upon prastice found in small and fiaancially strapped radio and tele.
vision stations. Called ‘rip and read,"" the practice is to “rip” copy is dependent upon the amount invested in intersecting fiber and the
off the United Press international or Assoviaied Pres tebetype tensile strength of that fiber. The narrower the intersections between
(which spew stories onto a continous reel of paper) and to “‘read™ the mesh—the more blankeslike the nei—the more can be captured.
it, without changes, on the air, The second is the use of the “Day ‘Of course, designing a more expensive narrow mesh. a a
Books" kept by the Associated Press and United Press Interaatioaal desire to caich small fish, not a wish to throw them back ini
and provided to subscribers and associated media each day. The Day flow of amorphous everday occurrences,
intended for big fish. Consider once mace
and when 10 use wire-service accounts. Public-relations firms and in- imagined conversation in chapter 1). The news net is more likely to
dividuals strive to get the events they are promoting listed in both presideat and provost discussed decreasing
Day Books to insure coverage by wire-service subscribers.* The New ‘the tmumber of faculty at the university than it is to learn off the stu
Yorker (1976) has noted a high correlation between events. listed! in dent's plagiarism. For just as exrlier pewspapers placed reporters at
the UPI New York Day Book and local media coverage. Of course, it police stations, where sensational cases might be located, so today's
remains to be established whether that metropolitan area's news- ews media place reporters at legitimated intitutions where stories
papers and television stations base their coverage om the Bray Book ‘supposedly appealing to comtemporary news consumers may be ©%-
of learn independently of occurrences and come to similar assess pected to be found. In New York, these locations include police
ents of theit relative importance. However, both “rip and read” headquarters, the Federal Courthouse, and City Hall, where re
bape Day Books point to the rote of central locations and agencies: porters’ daily reports bring them imto contact with official meetings,
in gathering news. I ‘one may visualire each news-wire service press releascs, and official documents such as the calendar of the
ma apider web, fanning wat from a central office to connect with Board of Estimate. The gheanings of reporters stationed at these and
bureaus and beats Iso 10 join diverse news media to a central similar locations are supplemented by monitoring the police and fire
location. Each associated medium, with its own wireservice sub- department's radio dispaiches, and by ling. other reporters,
For instance, when 1 asd the Qurem Colle public rations fier av einberee op sk ear poet vege ney bavcreme igre
- erin inion ganizations as the Board of Education, fare department,
Sanyo i teas eyis paz ang it New Yo AP the Metropolitan Transit authority. Significantly, all these organ-
izations maintain files of centralized information, at tenst partially n MAKING NEWS
‘occurrences in more specialized organizations, such as local colleges,
and in geographic areas of limited but clear circulation value, such as
suburbs," The name “stringer” connotes an attenuated relationship
and
ats eraders because tabard sewsppert ate glowing while metiopoliian papers are
New York, acti
the Batty New has a hrerewm and a comples yum of suburban
|
i
i
day reality as news.""
‘Space and the Constitution of News
‘The news net imposes order on the social world because it en-
ables news events 10 occur at some locations: but fot at others. Olbvi-
‘ously, reporters cannot write about cecurrences hidden from view by
‘Gale else... A rough mvasicalanaogy bs intended (197 40.44)"
of mean the term “aachoriag™ to convey a visual analogy sangrtive lf the
secights attached to the ahers” sees. The meighis provide some sabiiny. Si, to che
‘choting of the rrw et at intirtional ines bed sabiity om Maid sare for
Currences sealing as hews ancl decreas Ut variability of vhe Occurrences that Gan
bewncountered u MAKING NEWS
their social location. that is, either their geagraphic location o social
‘class. For instance, the assignment of a salaried reporter to City Hall
means that stories generated there may be favored over occurrences
at uncovered locations, such as issue-criented debates among work-
ing-class members of an unassigned social movement.
Equally important, the news net is a hierarchical systema of in
Formation gatherers, and 30 the satus of reporters in the news net
may determine whose information is identified as news. Editors pre-
fer stories by salaried reporters to those By stringers, paid less well
and on a piecework basis, simply because the sews organization has
a financial investment in the salaried reporter. For instance, when
the education editor of a New York daily sent a stringer fsom a city
college to cover a news conference at City Hall, the daily's City Mall
bureau chief fumed because (among other reasons) he had a reporter
available to do the story. The bureau chief announced to the educa
‘ion editor, “I have sine reparters down here’” for the explicit pur-
this practice reinforces the legitimacy of institutions that host beats
and bureaus.
Similarly, editors prefer to publish or tetecast material prepared
participant observation ai three major New York City newspapers
yielded the finding that their Photography editors rarely accept the
by a mire service, they invariably elected to print their staff mem-
ber's shot—even if the wire-service's picture was photographically
supertor.
observed the same patterns in the newsroom of a television sta-
{meraman, why coulda we have ne beh? ™
Space and the News Net B
stringers only in circumstances of dire need. For instance, when a
riotlike disturbance unexpectedy occurred in the middle of the might,
the editors purchased footage from a stringer, since they had mot as
signed a crew to the story. But whenever the editars could plan
coverage in advance, they avoided hiring a stringer.
‘Finally, the news net imposes a frame upon occurrences through
the cooperation of the complex bureaucracy associated with the dis
persion of reporters. Interactions withis the bureaucratic hierarchy,
porters want to see thei by-lines inthe paper, and 1 want to see them
there."" Friendly bbut fierce competitors, editors wheel and deal with
‘one another as representatives of self-interested fiefidams, nonethe-
Jess sharing a common purpose—to produce news for their organ
ization, To understand the impact of these competitive negotiations
upon the constitution of news, one must examine the news net in
greater detail,
‘Originally designed to attracted readers’ interest by catching ap
propriate stories available nt centralized locations, the news net
incorporates three assumptions about readers’ interests
1, Readers are interested in occurrences at specific kocalities.
12. They are concerned with the activities of specific organizations.
3. They arc interested in specific tops."
Accordingly, the news net is flung through space, focuses upon
specific organizations, and highlights topics. Of these three methods
of dispersing reporters, geographic territoriality is most important
(see Fishman, 1977),
Geogrophie Terriroriality: First, the mews media divide the world in-
tateas of territorial responsibility. The actual divisions used by any
specific news organization replicate the organization's notion of its
ews mission—whal it believes its particular readers want to know
‘oeaders are ahs atmamed to be inceresied f= specific peruons found ites st
specific localities ¢ people a the mew") oe in specific Foe (tet preudent and the fest
ldrh, apd assoclaced wich specific Wopsct (are movi tears and televiakon “"per~
sanalities"). Fy MAKING NEWS
and what it is financially prepared to bring them."* For instance,
‘both the New York Mews and the Times have Washington bureaus.
Each also bas a 4 metropatitn deok shoe terol pevegatives
4 senior editor who seeks to place his reporters’ stories in a good lo-
cation in the paper,
Local news programs use a similar system, With the managing
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