Aggregating the news: secondhand knowledge and the erosion of journalistic authority PDF
Preview Aggregating the news: secondhand knowledge and the erosion of journalistic authority
AGGREGATING THE NEWS Secondhand Knowledge and the Erosion of Journalistic Authority MARK CODDINGTON AGGREGATING THE NEWS Aggregating the News Secondhand Storytelling and the Changing Work of Digital Journalism Mark Coddington Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2019 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-231-18730-5 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-231-18731-2 (paper) ISBN 978-0-231-54719-2 (ebook) Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America Cover image: © Enrico Sacchetti / Millennium Images UK Cover design: Lisa Hamm For Dana Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Understanding Aggregation in Context 1 CHAPTER ONE Gathering Evidence of Evidence: Aggregation as 35 Second-Order Newswork CHAPTER TWO Making News by Managing Uncertainty 61 CHAPTER THREE Inferiority and Identity: Aggregators and the 93 Journalistic Profession CHAPTER FOUR Clickbait, Analytics, and Gut Feelings: How Aggregators 129 Understand Their Audiences CHAPTER FIVE Atomization and the Breakdown (and Rebuilding) of 158 News Narrative CHAPTER SIX Conclusion: Aggregation, Authority, and Uncertainty 190 Notes 209 Selected Bibliography 259 Index 271 Acknowledgments There are dozens of people who contributed to this book in ways large and small, tangible and intangible, and I’m deeply thankful for each one of them. This project began at the University of Texas at Austin, where Steve Reese, my doctoral adviser, had a remarkable influence on the ideas in this book, and on my growth as a young scholar. His perceptive questions and insightful suggestions have indelibly shaped this project and served as a superb model for thoughtful engagement with challenging issues. I am tremendously grateful to have had him as an intellectual guide. Other faculty there also offered extremely useful ideas and advice, particularly Regina Lawrence, Sharon Strover, and Mary Bock. And the early stages of this project would hardly have been bearable without the friendship, encouragement, and good humor of my fellow doctoral students, including Logan Molyneux, Avery Holton, Rachel Mourão, Shannon McGregor, Magdalena Saldaña, and Ji Won Kim. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity of spirit. At Washington and Lee University, I have been fortunate to have the strong support of the administration and my department, including funding for travel for this research, as well as for writing and revising this manuscript. Thanks especially to my two department heads, Pam Luecke and Toni Locy, for their encouragement and their help in secur- ing the time and resources to do this work.
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