A Study of News Stories‘ Identification, Selection and Processing: The Case of Private Newspapers in Ethiopia
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Date
2014-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study examines how reporters and editors of the private newspapers regularly produce content as well as how they interact with each other and their sources and government authorities. The study was informed by gatekeeping theoretical framework within the overarching rubric of political economy approach.
Furthermore, the study employed a qualitative method where interview was used as a data collecting tool. To that end, two sets of interview questions were set for reporters and editors. The study considered all established private newspapers published in the country.
The findings reveal that reporter-editor interactions started with story proposals and end with the final printing or rejection of a story. The private newspapers under the study used very differing approaches to or uses of editorial meetings as well as different practices regarding the need for reporters to be present in the office, some having extreme control and others somewhat loose, or even too loose control to the extent that some reporters may not even show up for days.
It was found out that story editing also varied widely, ranging from mere reading and making minor language corrections to an intense process requiring more interviews and possible rewriting.
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The study also reveals that bad composition was a more important reason than lack of information for editors‘ rejection of stories, and that calls from authorities served as an important factor deterring the reporting some news.
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Private Newspapers in Ethiopia