Commercial pressures and journalistic ethics in corporate media

Commercialization of Journalism and the Inherent Ethical Conflict The concept of 'News' would appear on the surface to warrant the very straightforward definition as being the reporting through mass media of current events. In particular, news journalism will generally have some type of relationship to current events, whether to serve as a channel for explaining events, a forum for discussion such events for a context for relating past or historical events to current scenarios. Additionally, it is instructive to think of news journalism as necessarily reflected through some form of mass media in which a single message source may connect to a broad array of potential recipients. Indeed, there is a justification to understand news in this way. However, a closer examination of some of the core conflicts in news media today illustrate that this definition is unsatisfactory and over-simplified at best and dangerously conducive to an over-empowerment of the media at worst. The discussion here will demonstrate that the intrusion of commercial interests into journalism-and especially with the dominance of cable news programming-has created an ethical conflict which undermines the validity of our news In this regard, Adorno's important and prescient work, Culture Industry provides a sensible starting point. The author speaks in detail about the alienation, isolation and spiritual emptiness that are collectively produced by a culture whose humanist impulses have been supplanted by distinctly materialist inclinations. That is a viewpoint which bears great veracity today, at a time when many prominent examples from our popular culture exhibit the vice which Adorno had cautioned against. Among the most pressing consequences of a culture based on materialist concerns rather than the pursuit of real human needs is a diminishing sense of journalistic responsibility taken on by these primary news outlets. The fears which Adorno expressed regarding the commercialization of social information channels as a mode to suppressing popular recognition of political, economic and social improprieties can be evidenced to be a strategy in effect via such 24/7 infotainment contexts as the aforementioned CNN, MSNBC and FOXNEWS. These sources for information are, the text observes, socially problematic, providing a window into national and world events that is significantly shaped by corporate gatekeepers and yet framed as reflecting News. This is counterintuitive to a definition proposed according to core journalistic principals relating to the social importance of vigilant reporting. The consumption of major outlets by commercial interests such as the value of advertising slots as a function of viewership appears to play a major role in the content which is considered for coverage. This means that the way that Americans receive news about their public representatives, about important world events, about global conflicts and about social crises is frequently conveyed through these stations, which broadcast newsworthy events all day, everyday. But, there is cause to believe that such stations often suffer a dilemma of journalistic integrity, with content and images determined not necessarily according to the true political and social implications of events and patterns but according to the dual interests of retaining viewers and selling advertisement space. Even more obfuscating of journalistic objectivism, each of these cable news networks is a single fiber of a larger conglomerate organization. CNN, as an example, is owned by the Time- Warner empire that has a music label, a movie studio, a print magazine, several sports franchises and countless other entertainment segments under its corporate umbrella. A closer scrutiny of some of the primary avenues for the receipt of 'News' allow us to examine that which is expected of our News outlets and that which is actually delivered. In this intersection is cause to refine our definition of news as something which conforms to a set of definable characteristics which proceed from the principles of journalistic objectivism. For the purposes of our discussion, Cable News serves a unique purpose, as it appears to reflect a problematic hodgepodge of information which both reflects and diverges from such principals of being 'newsworthy' as objectivism, relevance and relevant impact. In particular, the Cable News Network (CNN) is the modern model for television News delivery, originating the model of round-the-clock coverage of national and international news. This is a model that would influence the approach taken by such television networks MSNBC and FOX NEWS, though very much to the point of this discussion, each of these networks can and has been accused of reporting according to its own political or commercial agenda. Herein lay the most immediate challenge to accepting the broad introductory definition to news journalism. As reported in these contexts, there are considerable challenges to the principles as yet unaddressed, such as objectivism, accuracy and relevance. The result of these factors is a mounting pressure on such news stations that mirrors in a frightening exactitude the trend which Adorno's Culture Industry admonished about. Particularly, a shifting tide in the nature of news as a product rather than as a social responsibility has given it a considerable change in focus, intent and indeed, in definition. Though it may be arguable that political events and perceptions have always been shaped through mass-media news outlets, there has literally been a drastic change in the commercial orientation of news outlets that represents a dangerous precedent. Such is to note that, in the past, it had been conventional wisdom that the local network broadcast of the news, while a mandatory service to the public, would be a ratings slump. The time allotted by law to the news was essentially a dead-zone for advertising and, in this regard, not influenced in its presentation by the competitive ratings game that tends to define other programming slots. With the advent of cable news, this strategy would change considerably. The principle of 24 hour-a-day news channel represented the chance for a captive news audience that had specifically chosen this station as its destination for the receipt of news and information. This meant, for television programmers, two new realities. First, it had now become necessary to create news broadcasts which could fill an entire day, complete with niche programming and featured onscreen personalities. Second, and more troubling in its suggestive nature, Cable News had to be profitable in order to be justified as a corporate expenditure. This would produce the two realities of cable news that Adorno's text unquestionably prognosticates; the commercialization of the news presentation; and the presentation of advertisements as news stories themselves. Both of these conditions represent a subversion of journalistic integrity and a means of communicating information that literally exploits our materialist instincts as a means to diverting us from local, national and world events of grave importance. Certainly, we should be troubled in defining news by the manner in which it is framed today. The tabloid magazine style of such stations as CNN contrasts the complex demands of nuanced news items such as those concerning the current War in Iraq. Stories are rarely ever longer than a few minutes, with many important items concerning detailed political events or legislative efforts often being glossed over in literally just a few seconds. Attempting to appeal to the limited attention span of many in the popular audience, cable news stations will often sacrifice a complete disclosure of a news story in favor of presenting it in a package that is concise and easy for the viewer to absorb. This approach changes the value system of our journalism, reflecting the interest of conveying information so as to retain members of the audience rather than to present them with such information in an accurate and meaningful way. Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death is an another classic indictment of the superficiality of this approach. Using a tendency harbored by broadcast news, Postman accuses the media of championing a style tailored to distract viewers from the larger implications of the news featurettes that are collaged into a nightly news program. The phrase "Now . . . this" is a familiar one and Postman reminds the reader of why this is. He alludes to an authoritatively voiced anchorman with perfect enunciation who segues fluidly from one story to the next by employing the above mentioned phrase. Essentially, the "now. . . this" is intended to imply that the details of the preceding story needn't be recalled for use in understanding the upcoming story. By interjecting the phrase between a story about rising unemployment and the president's most recent European diplomatic excursion, or between a game-winning buzzer beater and a downtown shooting, the reporter is implying that there is no large relationship between the stories. Moreover, we are intended to receive the details of a story, however sparse they may be, and then surrender consideration thereof shortly thereafter in order to receive the details of the next story. We are not meant to mull with any great intensity over the News or its many ins and outs. Rather, we are accustomed to hearing, accepting and staying tuned for commercial messages. This points to the potential the news we receive is tainted in its definition by often obscuring its inherent biases, whether they be social, political or generally hegemonic. A recent study conducted by researchers at MIT which focused on the alleged conservative bias in the 'News' promoted by the FOXNEWS network illustrated that, quite indeed, there are great and applicable implications to the broadcasting of information which is inherently biased as being news. This alters the content, context and opinion promoted therein. And consequently, according to the study from 2007, there are observable social and political implications to these distinctions. Indeed, a connection between the presence and success of FOXNEWS in a selected market has been shown here to directly related to voting trends. Accordingly, it has been found that "Fox News also affected voter turnout and the Republican vote share in the Senate. Our estimates imply that Fox News convinced 3 to 28 percent of its viewers to vote Republican, depending on the audience measure." (Dellavigna et al, 1187) By presenting itself as 'news' and yet levying this clear and detectable bias, the process of identifying news is complicated. Indeed, it may be relevant to argue that in some contexts-such as with cable news-that there is an inherent commercial interest reflected in audience share that itself justifies a less objective approach to current events. This is not to absolve the media outlet for playing the charade of a legitimate source for news so much as to remark that the audience must be aware of this fact and must absorb news accordingly. In our definition of news, it is ultimately apparent that news is mass-media reported information which is by intent, timely, accurate and balanced in such a way as to reflect its true relevance to impacted audiences. However, it remains largely up to the audience to determine how effectively these principals are achieved in any given context.