Rethinking balance and impartiality in journalism? How the BBC attempted and failed to change the paradigm

This article reconsiders the concepts of balance and impartiality in journalism, in the context of a quantitative content analysis of sourcing patterns in BBC news programming on radio, television and online in 2007 and 2012. Impartiality is the cornerstone of principles of public service broadcasting at the BBC and other broadcasters modelled on it. However, the article suggests that in the case of the BBC, it is principally put into practice through juxtaposing the positions of the two main political parties – Conservative and Labour. On this basis, the article develops the idea of the ‘paradigm of impartiality-as-balance.’ This paradigm prevails despite the news organisation’s commitment to representing a broader range of opinion. The paradigm of impartiality-as-balance means that only a narrow range of views and voices are heard on the most contentious and important issues. Further, it results in reporting that focuses on party-political conflict, to the detriment of a journalism which provides much-needed context.

Homeward Bound

This article explores KGEI, an American shortwave station established in 1939 to broadcast American programming to American listeners in East Asia. At its founding,KGEI (initially called W6XBE) captured widespread enthusiasm about radio's believed ability to promote beneficial cross-cultural and economic exchanges across international borders. In practice, however, KGEI did little to further that idealistic vision. Listener reaction to this station's entertainment and news programming indicates that it became a vehicle for Americans abroad to strengthen their connections to their distant homeland and solidify their expatriate identities as American citizens. As war approached, KGEI discouraged the very international exchange it was thought to promote. KGEI's story remains pertinent today as Americans continue to debate the promises and perils of growing global entertainment and news networks.

Alternative Things Considered: A Comparison of National Public Radio and Pacifica Radio News Coverage

This study indicates that National Public Radio and Pacifica, despite their “alternative” origins, produce news programming that is largely grounded in the same journalistic values and routines as “mainstream” commercial broadcast journalism. A content analysis of NPR's All Things Considered and Pacifica Radio News, however, found several significant differences between these two producers of public radio news in the United States. Pacifica broadcast a higher percentage of stories dealing with governance and stories with an international focus, and presented a higher percentage of officials and activists as sources than did NPR.

News Media Exposure and Its Learning Effects during the Persian Gulf War

In a comparison of two probability surveys, one conducted immediately after the Persian Gulf War and the other a year and half earlier, this study showed significantly higher levels of news exposure across all media channels during the war. Both exposure to newspaper and to cable and PBS news programming were positively related to levels of knowledge about the war. Exposure to CNN leveled off the potential differences in knowledge acquisition across educational levels. Exposure to network TV news might be related to gaining “image-oriented” information, while exposure to newspaper and to cable and PBS news programming were related to learning more abstract and complex information about the war.