Writing Feedback / "Worthy subjects" - News editors decide what to broadcast on television [3]

Is it ok?

Theme: News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence these decisions?

What factors influence news editors' decisions about what to broadcast on TV or to print in newspapers? The question is highly relevant considering the role played by mass media in modern societies. In a complex world like ours, the average individual usually resorts to these media to be informed about facts that, yet taking place far away from his/her city or village, might have a huge impact in his/her life.

Much have been discussed about biased media - that is, the idea that the decisions about what is to be published (and what is not) are under direct constraint by economic and political groups. Some strongly believe this happens as a rule, but others tend to refute this point of view, arguing that once one gets to know the way daily decisions are taken within a journalistic enterprise, there is no evidence of such structural, direct influence existing over editors' decisions.

On the other hand, some theorists that study this theme believe in something called "unwitting bias": editors and journalists working for a news company probably take biased decisions, tough unaware of it; they tend to suffer an implicit influence from the company they work for.

From this perspective, editors might be officially free to choose whatever themes they want to cover, even if it contradicts the aspirations and interests of the news company proprietors; nonetheless, even without a formal prohibition from the top managers, they feel it is not appropriate to go ahead. Like there was an unconscious inner censorship.

For example: some argue that the decisions taken by the editorial department of a newspaper have no commitment to what goes on in the commercial department of that organization. But what if among the main advertisers of this newspaper are car companies? Would the editor suggest a series of articles about the advantages of living without a car? It is hard to believe in that. Probably the editor himself/herself would never come up with such a suggestion.

Besides these aspects, which concern the subjective nature of what is "newsworthiness" and the right approach to treat a topic, editors' decisions are also strongly affected by objective factors such as lack of space, lack of images to illustrate a piece of news, as well as financial and practical difficulties to cover a story. Producing news, especially if it is on TV, is a highly expensive process. One must be sure the subject is worth before sending a TV crew out.