Image repair in the aftermath of inaccurate polling: How the news media responded to getting it wrong in 1948 and 2016

The US presidential elections of 1948 and 2016 produced surprise outcomes when the predicted winners ended up losing the election. Using image repair theory, this article explains the strategies the media used to repair their image in light of predicting the wrong winner. Using a qualitative analysis of news coverage that immediately followed the 1948 and 2016 presidential elections, this study finds that the media utilized similar image repair strategies of offering explanations for poor information, highlighting the media’s good reporting, diminishing the harm caused by the inaccurate predictions, and justifying the inaccurate predictions of both elections. However, the media responses in 1948 and 2016 differed greatly in tone and in the utilization of a new attack strategy to deflect criticism of the media itself. These strategies suggest that media use of image restoration is limited because of the unique societal expectations placed on the press, and that the media’s inaccurate 2016 predictions and subsequent attack strategies may have been contributed to the heightened criticism of mainstream news.     

论如何发挥党报的舆论监督作用

舆论监督是民主监督的一个重要方面 ,是社会民主的必要环节 ,党报履行正常的舆论监督是反腐败的现实要求 ,是人民群众的要求 ,缺乏监督与制约的权力必然导致腐败。党报进行新闻舆论监督与正面宣传为主是一致的 ,不仅与弘扬主旋律之间没有矛盾 ,而且从全局看有利于加强社会的安定团结和稳定。党报要搞好舆论监督 ,必须树立大局意识 ,坚持真实、正义、公正、平等、理性的准则 ,提高新闻舆论监督水平     

Instrumentalizing Fukushima: Comparing Media Coverage of Fukushima in Germany,France, the United Kingdom,and Switzerland

According to the theory of instrumental actualization in mediated conflicts, the mass media tend to exaggerate events consistent with the editorial line. This theory was tested using press coverage in Germany, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom on the Japanese seaquake, the tsunami it caused, and the nuclear disaster of Fukushima. Within a period of seven weeks after the seaquake, the coverage in the four countries in 27 national newspapers and magazines on the three events was analyzed. As hypothesized from theory, German and Swiss media concentrated on Fukushima and stressed its relevance to domestic nuclear plants, whereas French and British media placed a greater emphasis on the tsunami and rarely related the nuclear catastrophe in Japan to domestic nuclear programs. In addition, there were remarkable correlations between the views of journalists and the bias of statements on nuclear energy presented in their news sections. Findings are discussed and related to the theory of public opinion and political decisions in liberal democracies.     

事实与价值的统一——对“真实是新闻生命”的思考

本文从价值哲学和逻辑学的角度,对“事实”理论作了全面系统的考查和分析,强调指出“事实”是主体对客体进行价值评价的过程,是主体能动性的表现,从而为“真实是新闻生命”这一基本观点提供了理论基础;本文还联系法新闻实际,指出法新闻工作者要在尊重法律“事实”的基础上,充分发挥新闻舆论监督的作用,做到尊重法律“事实”与发挥主体能动性的统一。     

论涉法新闻报道的规制——以无罪推定为视角

涉法新闻报道作为司法与传媒的交界领域,对无罪推定原则的认识和贯彻还存在缺失和不足。随着近年来各种形式的媒体技术,特别是自媒体的出现,使得舆论对司法的影响与日俱增,涉法新闻报道领域对无罪推定原则的无视与侵犯已日益成为影响司法公正和社会稳定的负面因素。文章聚集涉法新闻报道中涉及无罪推定原则的情况,讨论在新闻报道中如何正确应用无罪推定原则和背离无罪推定原则可能造成的危害,以及尝试从涉法新闻报道的规制角度,探讨如何在贯彻无罪推定原则的前提下形成新闻报道与司法公正的良性互动。在新闻报道中应当尊重无罪推定原则,需要明确媒体的社会责任,确保司法透明,对涉法新闻报道应当依法进行规范,可以通过立法授权司法机关对新闻报道案件情况加以限制,还需要赋予法院对其审理案件相关新闻报道活动进行规制的权力。