Norway and the Media

Despite not being a member of the European Union, Norway is situated in Northern Europe. Its capital city is Oslo and, for a fairly large country, it has a small population. It sits at just 5,136,700 - in comparison, the UK is half the size in terms of landmass and has a population of 64,000,000. Norway has a monarchy - King Harald 5th is the current sovereign - although, much like the UK, its government is tasked with the running of the country, and its laws are made in parliament. Ranked as the most prosperous country in the world [1], for six years running, it also has one of the lowest unemployment rates, with just 2.6% of its people not working.

Norway [ picture taken from http://www.pointsandtravel.com/]

Norway is not only one of the best places to live, it's one of the best places to be a journalist. In the 2014 Reporters Without Borders [2] report, which charts press freedom worldwide, Norway ranked 3rd, placing only behind Finland and Holland. It's a country that takes its media freedom - both for journalists, and from journalists - very seriously. The Norwegian Media Authority is the watchdog, tasked with keeping the country's media in line. Additionally, most of the country's publications are signed up to the PFU, the Norwegian Press Complaints Committee, which is a set of editorial guidelines much akin to the UK's newly-implemented IPSO.

Press Freedom Map [picture taken from http://rsf.org/]

In terms of printed media, Norway has a wide variety of newspapers [3], ranging from the tiny Osterdolen (circulation of 826) to the country's largest publication, the Aftenposten (circulation of 214, 026). It even has a small number of Sami-only newspapers, printed in the language of the country's indigenous people. The government offers a lot of assistance - it hands out production grants, with more money being allocated to the bigger papers, and doesn't tax the papers' publication. Like most other countries, newspaper sales are falling - in 2003, the tabloid Verdens Gang reported a circulation of 380,000, and in 2013 its circulation was just over half that, coming in at 164,430.

This decline is indicative of the general shift to online news. Norway is ranked 5th in the world for smartphone usage [4], and many people are choosing to access new on the go as opposed to purchasing a paper. Many publishers have successfully gone online, with some discontinuing their printed editions. There are even some highly successful online-only news outlets - the Oslo Times is Norway's most popular news source, of all the printed and online publications.

Norwegian newspaper stand [picture taken from http://i.usatoday.net/news/]

Television in Norway is also hugely popular, with many popular channels on air. The NRK, effectively Norway's BBC, owns most of the more popular ones, with NRK 1, 2 and 3 enjoying 42% of the total viewership in 2012. Programs are often aired in English, with Norwegian subtitles, given that English is the main language for most of the population. Norwegian TV is kept in line by a strict set of regulations - for example, adverts selling products to children and adverts seeking to politically influence people are explicitly illegal.

Other forms of media, such as radio and social media platforms, also enjoy a large amount of success in Norway [5]. The country's Facebook penetration - the population-to-user ratio - is the highest in the world, at 61.1%. Additionally, LinkedIn, widely considered the best platform for journalists to publish on, is among the top in terms of usage, with its 25% considerably higher than most other countries (the UK only has 9% penetration). This demonstrates Norway's thriving media culture, with many of the more blogging-orientated sites seeing more use than those of a social nature.

Social media conference [http://www.marismith.com/]

Media, of all forms, is thriving in a country which is enjoying considerable success in most areas. Online growth is likely to continue, and, with newspaper sales evening out, the print press might see gains in the near future. It may even rise to second or third on the Freedom Index, as it has seen more growth in recent year than either of the top two. It would seem that the future is bright, for not only the writers and media, but Norwegians of all kinds.

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[1] Guardian, European countries dominate in global prosperity rankings
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/nov/03/european-countries-dominate-in-global-prosperity-rankings

[2] Reporters Without Borders, 2014 Press Freedom Index
http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php

[3] Circulation of Norwegian newspapers
http://medienorge.uib.no/english/?cat=statistikk&medium=avis&queryID=190

[4] Google, Mobile Planet
http://think.withgoogle.com/mobileplanet/en/

[5] Social Users in Norway smile for Snapchat and Instagram
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Users-Norway-Smile-Snapchat-Instagram/1010534

Brazil - A Country Analysis

Today let us talk about South America’s largest nation- Brazil. We are going to discuss some questions, such as – How is social media influencing Brazil? What is the status of Brazilian journalists? What problems is Brazil facing at the moment? And perhaps, what’s going to be Brazil’s future?

Looking back in the history, Freedom of Speech in Brazil was most restricted during the military regime in 1967, when Article 151 was added to the constitution, limiting citizen’s liberty. It was until when Brazil became democratic and all this came to an end. It is a democratic country and has been democratic ever since 1985. There are three types of governments – Presidential, Federal Judiciary and Congress. Since the end of military rule in 1985, unionization, collective bargaining, and frequent strikes have become commonplace among federal employees in all the three branches of government.The current president of Brazil is Dilma Rousseff.

Investigating journalism in Brazil, we can see how it is facing crisis at the moment. This is because of two main reasons – one being the growing competition with new technologies and internet, which means how Brazilians have started believing online comments and broadcasted news. The second reason being, economic pressures to cut costs and do more with less of journalists and other costly reporting.

According to the World Press Freedom Index, Brazil is a country which exposes journalists to physical danger. In 2013, there were five journalists murdered and this made Brazil one of the deadliest countries for media personnel in western hemisphere. Now, due to all these cases journalists find it risky to cover subjects like – corruption, drugs and illegal trafficking.

A major problem faced by Brazil this year was when Brazilians in São Paulo protested against the massive amount of money spent on 2014 Football World Cup and 2016 Olympics. They said that all that money could have been used in hospitals and education. Another thing which was quite astonishing was when state military police was still using the methods it used during the time of dictatorship. Around 100 journalists were victims of violence and two-third of the blame went on the police.

Looking at these scores stated by the Freedom House this year, we can say that Brazil is neither the best nor the worst in context with press freedom.

Moving on to media, Brazil has South America's largest media market – thousands of broadcasting radios, TV channels and a strong press. Social media has influenced Brazilians in many ways like in purchase decisions, brands interacting directly with social networks and job recruitment.

Now let’s go to the vital part – Future of Brazil. Due to the growth of social media, people have started doubting what is being told to them by politicians and journalists. 

Instead , they have started drifting towards other sources like – online broadcasted news, posted comments by people on face book, articles and even blogs. They find it trustworthy, and unbiased. Old newspapers have now taken a backseat.

Journalism in Brazil won’t improve if media reforms are not taken seriously and discussed in a mature manner.This cannot be achieved by journalists’ good intentions and individual commitment alone.It is important to recognize that more structural and long lasting improvements in the media will necessarily depend upon- deepening of the Democratization Project and  Economic force. 

After reading all this the questions that come to our mind are-How will the media industry protect their institution? How will they retain positive public perception of their journalistic integrity and regain the trust of their readers?

(Can also refer to Power point presentation on this topic)

  

The Sociological Factors Affecting Your News

Modern day published news is often considered the result of tailored factors that affect the process of writing news stories. These environmental factors are in effect because media organisations operate within society’s regulated rules. This means that the rules of society, whether they are codified or not, have direct influence on the way in which the news is written and displayed [1].

Impacting on today’s news production are the political, economical, social and technological factors. Essentially, these factors constitute what news organisations consider during the process of news making- between the actual event and the final published story. The influence these factors can have is evident within the published media of many news organisations. Focusing on the political factor as an example, then enables an analysis of the sociological approach to journalism.

The nature of a political system often dictates the function of the news media in society, meaning in a liberal environment the role of the media would be to act as a watchdog [2]. A prime example of the political system causing the media to act in this way is apparent in the ‘Watergate Scandal’ of 1972 in the USA, in which two journalists acting in the interest of the public revealed the illegal behaviour of a President and his re-election committee.

In contrast, an authoritarian government would not allow many harsh or harmful depictions to be published against them. An example of this is the recent Chinese riots, of which very few journalists reported, due to the restrictions and regulations of the government. Videos and social media comments were posted on various platforms, only to be shortly prohibited by the Chinese government/regulatory body.

The political culture of society is also said to play a part in the news orientation. It’s a belief that the social norms and shaping of regions can create a culture that influences the focus of the media. For instance, one of the largest target audiences for newspapers in the UK would be the working-class, who are predominantly associated with Labour party votes. Therefore some newspapers, such as the ‘Daily Mirror’ feel obliged or influenced to support the views of their target audience with similar stories.

Labour Party-Lower Class Vote Link

Political pressure is one of the final factors within political systems that McNair draws up upon. The most radical form of political pressure can be presented in the form of informal lobbying, which has essentially corrupted many politicians in the eyes of the public. Lobbying is the notion that a government official can be influenced by other forces/individuals, discarding the obligation they have to the public. This kind of behaviour has led to close relationships between massive media corporations and politicians. Most notably the Thatcher-Murdoch liaison, seemed to be the most effective, as Rupert Murdoch (who owned the most influential newspapers in the country) secured Margaret Thatcher three general election wins in UK parliament.

Other political pressures present themselves in the form of legislation, physical disruption and censorship.

Overall, political systems have a huge effect on the final work of published news organisations. The sub-factors previously mentioned within this news effecting concept are prime examples of "media ecology"[4]. These elements fit with Harrison’s description, that the sociology of journalism is the “ecology of news”.

Journalism - is it dying, dead or very much alive?

In the last four hundred years, few industries have undergone the massive amount of change that journalism has. From the distribution of flyers during the political campaigns of the early seventeenth century, to modern day by-the-minute live updates, it has evolved to become a completely different beast. What does this mean for the future of journalism? Is it dead, dying or alive? Does it have a place in today's society?

For us to assess the mortality of journalism, we must first define what it is. According its page on Wikipedia [1], journalism is the "gathering, processing and dissemination of news and information." From this, we can infer that a journalist is somebody whose job it is to do such things.

With the newspaper industry - perhaps journalism's most iconic avatar - in seemingly terminal decline, many people have declared that journalism is either dying or dead. Jon Stewart, speaking on his program 'The Daily Show' [2], remarked that "the internet has killed journalism". Indeed, the rise of the internet has coincided with an alarming reduction in newspaper sales.

In September, The Daily Record recorded a drop in circulation of 15.15% on the previous year, with the Financial Times and the Independent following at -13.12% and -12.74% respectively. Only one national newspaper reported an increase, with The Times seeing gains of +0.39% [3]. These losses can be attributed to the ease with which users can access news on the internet. Why go outside and spend money on a paper when it is freely available in the palm of your hand?

Journalism, however, is not only limited to the newspaper industry. Even with said industry falling into oblivion, new and innovative demonstrations of journalism are emerging. Previously, you had to work for a news agency in order to reach the masses - this is no longer the case. Now, anybody can set up a blog and project their views and opinions to millions of people instantly, all from the comfort of their own home.

Despite the simplicity of these virtual newspapers, their power is not to be underestimated. In the recent Scottish referendum, nationalist blogs such as Wings Over Scotland and Bella Caledonia attracted daily readership figures of 2-300,000. With the majority of Scottish newspapers favoring a 'No' vote, they provided the much needed counter-argument that pushed Scotland to the brink. The ordinary people who founded these blogs had stood toe-to-toe with the partisan press magnates and, although ultimately unsuccessful, the potency of neo-journalism was cleared demonstrated.

Other forms of journalism are thriving in this new environment, too. You now no longer need to own a radio to listen to one, with most of the popular stations providing free downloadable apps for smartphones and computers. Recently, BBC Radio 6 Music reported average listener figures of 1,990,000 over the last few months [4] - setting a new record. Historically one of the biggest forms of journalism outside of the written press, the radio is now more accessible than ever.

With the increased visibility, more people are being educated, informed and entertained by journalism on a daily basis. Dying? Far from it - journalism is thriving.

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[1] Wikipedia, Journalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism

[2] Salon, 'John Stewart declares that traditional journalism is dead'
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/31/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_declares_that_traditional_journalism_is_dead/

[3] The Guardian, newspaper circulation figures for September 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/media/table/2014/oct/10/abcs-national-newspapers

[4] The Guardian Media, BBC Radio 6 Music latest figures
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/23/bbc-radio-6-music-lauren-laverne-nick-grimshaw?CMP=share_btn_tw

Social Media Influencing Journalism

This is the era of social media; where the journalists have been affected by new technologies, which has got a huge impact towards the working and practice of journalism. Journalism, which plays an indispensable role in notifying the people of the nation, who are a pillar of public life and pluralistic, democratic societies. They are a source where the general public rely on them for the facts and quality information.

The past working of journalism was usually practiced without the involvement of the public and their point of view. Over the years, there have been different factors, which have come up leading for a huge impact on journalism. But “Social Media” is one of the factors which has been significantly influencing the working of journalism. Social Media or in other words new Internet technologies has changed the business of journalism, where the journalists are no more the gatekeeper’s but sharing the news in the public where social media is playing a big role; for example:

•  Blurred the difference between opinion and fact
• Anyone can be a journalist; citizen journalism

These are few ways through which the social media has replaced traditional journalism. Now a day’s this topic has been taken into account by the organizations like, The Guardian just published an article on, “How social networking is changing journalism”, even the Oxford Social Media Convention focused the impact of social media's impact towards the working of journalism. 

With the drastic use of social media it has got a detailed look on how the public relations and the journalists communicate.  To get maximum reach towards the depth of the happenings around, journalists must engage with the different forms of social networking sites.  

• One of the biggest news that broke via social media, “ The 1^st person to tweet about Osama bin Laden raid was a neighbor who, while complaining about the noise next door on Twitter, unknowingly tweeted about one of the "biggest news" stories of the decade. 

On the other hand, online news sources aren’t always reliable or 100% fact.

Social media being a source of spreading the news with speed doesn’t mean the data it carries is truly factual.  

Old or past information is circulated on social sites which causes an environment of unnecessary fear in society.   

At times the people who post on the social networking sites become the source for the reporters.

Though,“Reading news online” is an increasingly important Internet activity. In some OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, more than half of the population read newspapers online.

• Political Parties in India especially BJP used social media during the Loksabha elections in a big way. This can be useful for few but harmful for many. With such an effective tool one can malign any one within minutes. Hence needs to be handled properly. Looking at these changes, Election Commission had made it mandatory to fill details of Social Media Accounts in recently conducted Maharashtra polls.

“Social media was an add-on originally,
 a little something extra you used to do,
 now its intrinsic to everyday life, its completely woven into the newsroom."