This study is one of the first to empirically assess differences in the ways that news is presented over time and across platforms, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. We must be careful about generalizing too far from the specific sources that we analyzed, but we do observe some broad trends consistently across our different analyses. As we move from news coverage prior to 2000 to news coverage after 2000, and as we move from conventional media to “newer” media (e.g., cable and online), our analysis suggests that news coverage has shifted away from a more traditional style characterized by complex, detailed reporting that emphasizes events, context, public figures, time, and numbers toward a more personal, subjective form of reporting that emphasizes anecdotes, argumentation, advocacy, and emotion. Observed shifts have not been wholesale, however, and there is much that has remained the same over time and across media. For example, journalism across platforms is often characterized by continued adherence to reporting styles (e.g., sequencing, events, dialogue, motion) and often a similar anchoring in common public values. In this chapter, we take a step back, discussing key insights from each analysis and drawing parallels across the different comparisons to build a more holistic sense of what has changed, what has stayed the same, and why these factors could be important. Key findings from our analysis are summarized in Table 6.1.
In our temporal analyses of broadcast news and newspapers, we observed a shift in reporting from event-based reporting rich with contextual details and description to a reporting style that is more subjective and oriented toward advocacy, interpersonal interaction, and argumentation. In addition, the use of emotional appeals, subjective reporting, and argument have increased over time in the sources that we explored. The specifics of these shifts have differed somewhat across platforms. Changes have been least notable in print journalism; they are more visible in our empirical analysis when comparing changes in television broadcast journalism over time.
Print Journalism: Modest Shifts Toward More-Subjective Reporting
...
Television News: Stronger Shifts to Subjectivity, Conversation, and Argument
...
(Page 119 et seq).
[
SOURCE]
IOW, the findings were just "slightly" more nuanced than you would have people believe (as you would have known had you actually read the whole report.
