News in the Age of New Media: The Changing Meaning of News as told by the Story of CNN
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the meaning of “news” in the age of new media. Contemporary scholarship across communication studies, political science and computer science draws attention to numerous problems impacting the state of media today: disinformation, political polarization, and declining public trust describe just a few of these conversations. At the foundation of all of these conversations lies a deceptively simple question: what does “media” mean today in the first place? To answer this question, my thesis traces the changing meaning of news in the age of new media through the story of the Cable News Network (CNN). As the first international 24-hour cable news network, CNN embodies many elements of new media. In my thesis, CNN provides a window into 1) the rapid technological, cultural and institutional developments that were foundational to emergence of new media and 2) the changing meaning of journalism in the era of new media. To contextualize the emergence of new media, I examine the technological innovation of satellite technology; the cultural shift that increased public desire for news; and the institutional changes in the news industry marked by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) deregulations. I then identify the changing meaning of news in the age of new media. I find that news in the new media era is best described as a paradox that allows for far more and yet remarkably less: innovations in new media opens new frontiers for journalism, but the incredibly fast pace of change amplifies existing problems in media. News was able to develop more types of stories, but less stories focused on news. News expanded audiences internationally, but the nonstop newscycle disrupted viewer trust in media. News diversified content options, while saturated competition siloed viewers. My story of CNN from 1980 to the late 20th Century presents a narrative that contextualizes the changing meaning of news in the age of new media. Clarity on what “media” means will provide a foundation for contemporary scholarship that focuses on the causes and solutions to the problems in the state of media today.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2020 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Choi, Inyoung |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Hamilton, James |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford University |
|---|---|
| Subject | media |
| Subject | disinformation |
| Subject | cnn |
| Subject | history |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- This document has been removed from online delivery at the request of the author.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Choi, Inyoung. (2020). News in the Age of New Media: The Changing Meaning of News as told by the Story of CNN. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/fh546wt8551
Collection
Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. (CDDRL)
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- ichoi@stanford.edu