Politics and the Media - Case Study Example

Politics and the Media, News Coverage Analysis Assignment Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 4 How Does The News Story Conform To Prevailing Standards Of Newsworthiness? What Criteria Are Present In The Story? How Do These Criteria Appear To Be Driving This Story? 4 2.How Does Coverage Of The Story Appear To Reflect Newsgathering Routines? What Are The Most Frequently Cited Sources? Are They Predominantly “Official”, Authoritative” Sources? How Are The Sources Identified: By Name, Generically, Or Anonymously? 5 3.Is A Range Of Viewpoints Or Agendas Represented In The Coverage? Have The News Outlets Taken An Explicit Editorial Stand On Your Topic? Does That Editorial Stand Appear to Influence the Rest of the Outlet’s Coverage? 6 4.What about the Overall Quality of Coverage of the Story? Is Coverage Event-Driven? Is The Story Framed In An Episodic, Discrete, Or Piecemeal Fashion? What Kind Of Broader Context Is Evident? 7 5.In Your View, Are There Clear Winners or Losers in the Coverage You’ve Examined? Have Particular Politicians, Groups, Or Points Of View Received Noticeably More Coverage, Or Better Coverage? Do You Think Was Public Well-Served By The Coverage You Have Examined? Why or Why Not? 9 Conclusion 10 Works Cited 11 Introduction The significant aspect of immigration is fundamentally described as the transfer of individuals or people from one particular country to other in order to make permanent settlements. In this similar context, several political figures and intellectuals of the United States referred to the country as the nation of immigrants. This is owing to the reason that in excess of 23 million immigrants particularly from the European nations had become enduring residents of the US between the years 1880 and 1920 (Jimenez, “Introduction”). It has been apparently observed that the immigration policies of the US have become a widespread political debate for last few decades. It is in this context that the present President of the US i.e. Barack Obama has been recognized to take speedy action towards providing the opportunity for legal residency relating to the significant concern of the US immigration policy. Moreover, it has also been viewed that ratings or polls have been conducted for the approval or the disapproval of the new immigration policy that is especially designed for the illegal immigrants in the US. In this similar context, the ratings or the polls have eventually acquired the attention of the Americans and raised the political image of President Obama (The New York Times Company, “Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts”). The New York Times is regarded as one of the renowned American based daily newspapers, which was founded in the year 1851 in New York City. It has been viewed that the newspaper published one similar kind of article relating to the US immigration policies entitled “Immigration and Emigration” in recent days that was of quite narrative type (The New York Times Company, “Immigration and Emigration”). Conversely, The Washington Post is the other American based daily newspaper that was established in the year 1877 in Washington D.C. The newspaper has been identified to publish several articles linked with the US immigration policies in recent days that are of quite narrative type (The Washington Post Company, “Company Profile”). Thesis Statement This paper intends to critique the news coverage concerning Obama’s initiatives towards making immigration comeback and speedily working upon the US immigration plan. 1. How Does The News Story Conform To Prevailing Standards Of Newsworthiness? What Criteria Are Present In The Story? How Do These Criteria Appear To Be Driving This Story? The news story that was published by the newspaper i.e. The New York Times conforms to prevailing standards of newsworthiness by depicting Obama’s one of the significant initiatives towards facilitating a large number of unlawful immigrants residing in the US on a clear pathway to nationality or residency. There were several criteria present in the story that was published by this particular newspaper which encompass Obama’s speedy action towards working upon immigration plan, adopting as well as implementing effective measures in supporting the illegal immigrants and offering important proposals. These crucial criteria appear to be driving the story relating to the US immigration policy in terms of gaining active support especially from the illegal immigrants and raising public image by a considerable level (The New York Times, “Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts”). Conversely, the news story that was published by the newspaper i.e. The Washington Post conforms to prevailing standards of newsworthiness by portraying major ratings that were provided by the Americans based upon Obama’s initiative towards introducing new US illegal immigration reform or bill. There were several criteria present in the story that was published by this particular newspaper which include the valuable responses of the Americans regarding the approval or the disapproval of Obama’s initiative towards introducing a new immigration policy and there was also the result of the poll conducted by Washington Post-ABC News. These particular criteria appear to be driving the story linked with the article that was published by The Washington Post in terms of receiving broader support from the Americans as well as the Hispanic populaces concerning the discussions based upon introducing new illegitimate immigration policy (The Washington Post Company, “Obama Makes Immigration Comeback”). 2. How Does Coverage Of The Story Appear To Reflect Newsgathering Routines? What Are The Most Frequently Cited Sources? Are They Predominantly “Official”, Authoritative” Sources? How Are The Sources Identified: By Name, Generically, Or Anonymously? From the perspective of the newspaper i.e. The New York Times, it can be stated that the coverage of the story appears to reflect newsgathering routines in the form of ‘horse-race coverage’. This particular newsgathering routine focuses upon an individual taking significant initiatives for the motive of resolving any significant problem (UVM, “How News is Made”). In this similar context, the perception of ‘horse-race coverage’ sort of newsgathering routines can be linked with the article published by The New York Times as it portrayed the initiatives taken by Obama in introducing a new immigration policy for the illegal immigrants belonging to the US (The New York Times, “Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts”). With regard to the newspaper i.e. The Washington Post, it can be affirmed that the coverage of the story appears to reflect newsgathering routines in the form of ‘investigative journalism’. This is owing to the reason that the newspaper portrayed the ratings and the conducted polls concerning the approval or the disapproval of the Obama’s initiatives towards introducing a new immigration policy for the illegal immigrants of the US (The Washington Post, “Obama Makes Immigration Comeback”). The most frequently cited sources relating to the coverage of the story concerning the US immigration policy have been identified to be the US Census Bureau and Silicon Valley among others. They can be predominantly regarded as “official, authoritative” sources owing to the reason that the contribution of the immigrants towards innovation as well as generation of new business opportunities is well documented by properly accessing the aforementioned frequently cited sources. It has been viewed that these sources are generically identified with the intention of assessing the exact number of illegal immigrants present in the nation (American Immigration Council, “Just the Facts”). 3. Is A Range Of Viewpoints Or Agendas Represented In The Coverage? Have The News Outlets Taken An Explicit Editorial Stand On Your Topic? Does That Editorial Stand Appear to Influence the Rest of the Outlet’s Coverage? A broad assortment of viewpoints or agendas has been represented in the coverage that was presented by both the newspapers i.e. The Washington Post and The New York Times. From the perspective of The New York Times, the viewpoints or the agendas such as formulating a list of proposals relating to the introduction of new US immigration policy that includes tightening border security as well as prohibiting impermanent issuing of visas have been represented in the coverage (The New York Times, “Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts”). In relation to The Washington Post, the viewpoints or the agendas such as focusing upon the responses of the overall endorsement or discontentment of the ratings of the Americans towards the formation of new immigration policy of the US and identifying the biggest obstruction to new immigration reform have been represented in the coverage. The news outlets that have been taken from both the newspapers can be stated as the deliverance of an explicit editorial stand on the particular topic relating to the introduction of the US immigration policy. This is owing to the reason that the news outlets highlighted long-running satisfaction with the leadership of Obama in handling the policy of the US immigration policy. This editorial stand can appear have broadly influenced the rest of the outlet’s coverage by raising the accountability of the US government towards adopting as well as implementing significant decisions or initiatives in handing the US immigration policy effectively (The Washington Post, “Obama Makes Immigration Comeback”). 4. What about the Overall Quality of Coverage of the Story? Is Coverage Event-Driven? Is The Story Framed In An Episodic, Discrete, Or Piecemeal Fashion? What Kind Of Broader Context Is Evident? After acquiring a brief idea about the viewpoints or the agendas that have been represented by both the newspapers, it can be affirmed that the overall quality of coverage of the story is quite satisfactory as well as attractively represented and most significantly can be considered as event-driven. This is owing to the reason that both the newspapers revealed the role of the US government in handling one of the imperative issues of the nation i.e. immigration policy especially of the illegal immigrants belonging to the US. Furthermore, it can also be stated that the coverage of stories of both the newspapers has been framed in an episodic fashion. This can be better understood with reference to the fact that the issue has not been solved yet and is continuously drawing the attention of the US government to mitigate the issue within a shorter time-period. In this similar concern, it has been apparently observed that Obama urges to work deliberately upon favoring the illegal immigrants of the US by introducing new immigration reforms. The kind of broader context, which can be considered as quite evident relating to the issue of the US immigration plan, is the viewpoint of Obama in providing greater opportunity to the illegal immigrants of the US by introducing new immigration policy reforms. According to the news that was published by the two newspapers, it has been viewed that Obama intended to adopt as well as implement new immigration policy only at the time when the borders of the country are well secured. Moreover, other broader contexts relating to the news coverage of both the newspapers that can be regarded a quite evident is the proposals that are offered by Obama in implementing new immigration plan favoring the illegal immigrants of the nation. In this regard, the proposals include strengthening border security, restricting temporarily issuing visas to the illegal immigrants and restraining particularly the employers hiring illegal immigrants (The New York Times, “Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts”). 5. In Your View, Are There Clear Winners or Losers in the Coverage You’ve Examined? Have Particular Politicians, Groups, Or Points Of View Received Noticeably More Coverage, Or Better Coverage? Do You Think Was Public Well-Served By The Coverage You Have Examined? Why or Why Not? The coverage’s that have been examined concerning the issue of the US immigration policy from both the newspapers did not portray the clear winners or losers. Rather, the coverage’s seem to be quite attractive as well as well-structured as they raised a global awareness about the adoption as well as the implementation of significant initiatives of Obama concerning the issue of the US immigration policy towards the general public. It can broadly be stated that a particular politician as well as a group i.e. Obama and the Democratic Party as a group noticeably received better coverage from both the newspapers. This can be explained with reference to the fact that the newspapers i.e. The New York Times and The Washington Post portrayed the news coverage in such way that eventually raised the political significance of Obama and his Democratic Party as a group by a significant extent. On the basis of the news coverage that was conducted by both the newspapers, it can be affirmed that the public was well-served by the coverage’s as they generated greater awareness towards the public about the significant move taken by the US government under the control of Obama in handling the US immigration policy. Conclusion The news story associated with the US immigration reform derived from the two newspapers conforms to prevailing standards of newsworthiness by taking into certain significant criteria. These criteria encompass the adoption a well as the implementation of effective measures in supporting the illegal immigrants of the US and the valuable responses of the Americans regarding the approval or the disapproval of the new immigration policy. The most frequently cited sources relating to this particular news story have been noted as US Census Bureau and Silicon Valley in which the contribution of the illegal immigrants towards generating news business prospects has been finely documented. The overall quality of coverage of the story can be regarded as quite acceptable and most importantly event-driven as the news story of two newspapers revealed the role of the US government under the leadership of Obama in handling the critical concern of immigration policy. Thus, it can be concluded that the public was well-served by the coverage that has been examined in the form of creating broader awareness about the significant initiative taken by Obama concerning the US immigration policy. Works Cited American Immigration Council. Just the Facts, 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Jimenez, Tomas R. Introduction. Immigrants in the United States: How Well Are They Integrating into Society, 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. The New York Times Company. Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts, 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. The New York Times Company. Immigration and Emigration, 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. The Washington Post Company. Company Profile, 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. The Washington Post Company. Obama Makes Immigration Comeback, 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. UVM. How News is Made, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. Read More