Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2019

This article conducts a comparison of the curricula in bachelor’s programmes in journalism in the Nordic countries. Typically, the journalism education in the Nordic countries has been assumed to share many similarities due to a shared media system, societal ideology and cultural homogeneity. The analysis examines the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish curricula in terms of their orientations towards the academic and the professional traditions and goals. It is found that the Nordic journalism education inhabits a heterogeneity that does not fit into a single model; instead, bigger differences in integrating the academic and professional orientations can be seen within the countries rather than between them. The most significant inter-national differences can be found in the role of the final thesis and courses in methodology as well as in the length of the internship. It is suggested that the diversity reflects the increasing diversity and heterogeneity of the profession.

The idea of the inclusive society as a policy instrument is based on equality of opportunities and the equal capacity of members, irrespective of differences such as gender and faith. Operating within society, the idea of inclusive journalism follows this model, including the anthropocentric practices that exclude the living conditions and concerns of most nonhuman animals. This article argues that for journalism to be truly inclusive the anthropocentric nature of both society and the media must be exposed, and our social practices extended beyond the species divide. The article begins by illustrating the common journalistic practices of reporting on farmed animals, before exploring the new practices of Animal Journalism and, within scholarship, the field of Critical Media and Animal Studies. The article then turns to political theory before suggesting that Donaldson and Kymlicka’s concept of positive relational rights can be placed at the centre of a non-anthropocentric and inclusive journalism practice.

Television news anchors and reporters have become trusted guests in American households. An important factor regarding television news presentations is who presents the news to the audience, whether as an anchor or reporter. This study compared large and small market newscasts to explore connections or variations between markets regarding gender representation as news personalities in the northwest region of the US. Two specific research questions were developed to guide this study and three hypotheses were formed based on findings significant to recent research. Using a content analysis to analyse 119 news stories and packages from a total of 397 samples from 26 newscasts, this study’s results from the northwest indicate no significant difference between female and male news reporters in presenting both soft and hard news stories. Our results reveal no gender-vertical segregation – males and females more frequently present news stories that do not stereotypically match their gender.

Based on Downs’s theory (1972) of the ‘issue-attention cycle’, this article investigates the degree to which Bangladeshi newspapers paid attention to climate change-related issues over a three-week period of each past four COPs (Conference of the Parties), namely COP13 in Bali (3 – 15 December 2007); COP 15 in Copenhagen (7 – 18 December 2009); COP 17 in Durban (28 November – 11 December 2011); and COP 19 in Warsaw (11 – 23 November 2013). Observations indicate that media attention to climate change issues declined over this period globally, despite the fact that the principal objective of the COPs has not yet to this day been achieved. Based upon content analysis and in-depth interviews, this article concludes that the issue-attention curve took a Downsian shape over the period of the four selected COPs in general; there were, however, fluctuations within each COP. Domestic, social, cultural and institutional factors may have contributed to various waxings and wanings. Moreover, the intrinsic value of climate change issues as news has lost much of its force. The cultural-editorial factors that prioritize ‘exciting’ news no longer consider climate change as exciting, especially compared to issues related to politics, corruption and violence.

Non-profit media civil society organizations (MCSOs) help contribute towards democratization and towards improving the conduct of journalism in the Philippines. These MCSOs operate with meagre resources while producing independent stories and implementing advocacies such as journalist protection, freedom of information, responsible media and civic journalism. While MCSOs operate through predictable revenue models, how do they sustain their work and walk ethical tightropes in fulfilling their non-profit and journalistic missions? This case study research presents approaches by four Philippine MCSOs on linking media sustainability, democratization and ethics.

Journalists play a key role in providing information to various publics affected by disasters or crises. They have important social and ethical responsibilities in relation to disseminating information during the various disaster phases. News media are important in shaping public responses to disasters and in connecting people and communities. This article explores how journalists can contribute towards communication about the management of disasters. It does so by drawing on a series of interviews with high-level emergency managers in eight countries. This article finds that there are key areas where simple changes to reporting approaches might facilitate significant change in approaches to reporting disasters.