Prelims

Jingrong Tong (The University of Sheffield, UK)

Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era

ISBN: 978-1-80043-559-9, eISBN: 978-1-80043-558-2

Publication date: 15 November 2022

pdf (1.7 MB) ePub (491 KB)

Citation

Tong, J. (2022), "Prelims", Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-ix. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-558-220221009

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Half Title Page

Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era

Title Page

Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era

BY

JINGRONG TONG

The University of Sheffield, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

Published under exclusive license by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80043-559-9 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-558-2 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-560-5 (Epub)

List of Figures and Tables	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1
Chapter 1: The News Business in Trouble	5
The Collapse of Traditional Funding Models	6
The Reasons That Explain the Trouble	8
The Importance But the Peril of (Measurable) Attention	13
Competing with Multiple Players for Attention	17
Striving to Win Over Digital Audiences	20
New Funding Strategies	23
Chapter 2: Algorithms, Cloud Computing and Journalism	29
A Continuity of Digital Transformation of Newsrooms	29
Different Scenarios of Using Algorithms for Journalism	30
Moving onto the Cloud	33
What Is Cloud Computing?	33
The Adoption of Cloud Computing by News Media	35
Potential Issues of Using Cloud Computing for Journalism	39
Implications for Journalism	42
Chapter 3: Revisiting the Importance of Data Journalism	47
The Rise of Data Journalism	47
The Importance of Data Journalism	50
The Limitations of Data Journalism	53
The Promise and Problems of Data Reporting: A Case Study of Data Journalism During the COVID-19 Pandemic	57
Chapter 4: The Tabloidisation of Journalism as Digital Logic	61
The Concept of Tabloidisation and Existing Views	61
Tabloidisation as Digital Logic	63
Tabloidisation of Online Content	63
The Importance of Human Interest	64
Tabloidisation But Clear Boundaries	67
Tabloidisation in the Tweets of Seven British News Media’s Twitter Handles	69
Conclusion	73
Chapter 5: Tensions Between Journalism and Politicians	75
Journalists and Politicians: Friends or Foes?	75
The Boom of Leaks	81
Leaks and Exposés Seen as a Threat to National Security and Privacy	82
Governments and Politicians: Endeavouring to Control News Media	85
The Responses of News Media	89
Conclusion	91
Chapter 6: The Rise of Partisan Journalism and the Crisis of Objective Journalism	93
Introduction	93
The Crisis of Objective Journalism	94
The Concept of Objective Journalism	94
Criticism About Objectivity in Journalism	95
Intense Disputes Over Objective Journalism Today	95
The Proliferation of Partisan News Media	103
The Values and Problems of Partisan Journalism	106
Conclusion	107
Conclusion: The Transformation of Quality Journalism	109
Bibliography	111
Index	135

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Fig. 1.	UK Daily Newspaper Average Circulation Per Issue by Month, 2000 – 2020 (1st January 2021) (m) (Data Extracted from Tobitt & Majid, 2021).	7
Fig. 2.	Overtime Spread of the Number of Tweets Sent by the Seven British News Media Between 10th and 15th January 2022.	70
Fig. 3.	Mapping Prominent Topics in the Tweets Published by the Seven British News Media’s Twitter Handles.	71

Tables

Table 1.	Statistics of Tweets Sent by the Seven British News Media Between 10th and 15th January 2022.	71

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to all of the interviewees who generously shared their experiences, views and insights about data and/or journalism with me. I would like to thank Brunel University London and the University of Sheffield for their funding, which has allowed me to carry out the research. Thanks also to Jen McCall and Kimberley Chadwick of Emerald Publishing for their support with this book project and patience with me. Finally, I thank my family for their love and encouragement.

Book Chapters

Prelims

Introduction

Chapter 1: The News Business in Trouble

Chapter 2: Algorithms, Cloud Computing and Journalism

Chapter 3: Revisiting the Importance of Data Journalism

Chapter 4: The Tabloidisation of Journalism as Digital Logic

Chapter 5: Tensions Between Journalism and Politicians

Chapter 6: The Rise of Partisan Journalism and the Crisis of Objective Journalism

Conclusion: The Transformation of Quality Journalism

Bibliography

Index