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The Production and Changes in Newspaper Consumption News: A Qualitative Study of the Liberty Times Weekender

In recent 10 years, the operation environment of newspaper in Taiwan had become more and more difficult. China Times Express announced to cease publication on November 1, 2005. Grea News, Central Daily News, Taiwan Daily News, Star News, Min Sheng Daily also became history since March 2006. In addition to the trend of newspaper closures, Apple Daily from Hong Kong entered the market officially on May 2, 2003. It not only dropped a bomb in Taiwan newspaper market, but also posed a threat to the original ¡§Big 3¡¨ United Daily News, China Times and Liberty Times. External newspaper snatched the advertisement and publishing markets of internal newspapers, and forced the ¡§Big 3¡¨ to change the contents and manners of news production, even to imitate the strategy from Apple Daily in order to acquire the attraction of Taiwan newspaper readers.
This study proceeded from the environment of Taiwan newspaper market and personal career expierence, focused on the producing and changing course of newspaper consumption news, and chose the Liberty Times Weekender as a study case. I attempted to figure out the effects brought about in the production of Taiwan newspaper consumption news by Apple Daily. What is changed during the course? How do the worker of the newspaper consumption news treat about the course and the result? How about the production of newspaper consumption news after the change? What¡¦s the difference between the past? Furthermore, this study paid close attention to the prodution of local consumption news, probed into the role changes of local comsumption reporters, the characteristic of local consumption news, and the gap between local comsumption reporters and headquarters of newspaper office.
This Study was based on the market-driven journalism on American savant J. H. McManus, the hierarchy of influences model on P. J. Shoemaker and S. D. Reese, and the news factory model on C. R. Bantz, S. McCorkle & R. C. Baade, applying deep interview of qualitative research approaches to inquire the consumption news workers of Liberty Times Weekender. The Finding revealed that the changes of the consumption news were one of the competiton strategies in newspaper market. Liberty Times chose to follow the steps of Apple Daily Supplement, and released the whole new ¡§Apple-lization¡¨ supplement: Weekender, in order to snatch young readers group with Apple Daily and avoid being eliminated by market.
Moreover, there was another finding that when the newspaper office adjusted the strategies of editting and interviewing and transformed the layout, it would be impeded by the other un-transformed layouts and influenced by the former burdens. If we interpreted this phenomenon on the market-driven journalism on J. H. McManus, we could say that news are just like goods, readers are consumers, and the newspapers are combo meals.
This study also analyzed the consumption news production mode of the Liberty Times Weekender. On the whole, the Weekender preferred to employ young, college graduated, relenvance experienced consumption reporters, and carried out the power of newspaper office through the examination of proposals, beats, photos and manuscripts. On the production policy, the major function of the Weekender was to approach readers¡¦ needs, it differed from the past consumption news in gaining advertisement profits. On organizational structure, the Weekender transited the combination of editing and interviewing from chief editor to integration, and made a huge difference between past consumption news and Apple Daily in arrangement.
Former studies of consumption news mostly emphasized the influences from sources and advertisers at extra-media level, but the consumption news workers of the Weekender concerned about the involvements from advertisement profits and government regulations more. Reporters of the Weekender were also affected by social and capitalistic ideology, they believed that a good consumption news is to make readers desire to consume and do consume. It was also the sources of consumption news reporters¡¦ feelings about indenfication and achievement that readers dipped into their pocket.
Finally, on the production of local consumption news, threr was a finding that Apple Daily pushed the specialization of local consumption reporters, and leaded Liberty Times to dispose professional consumption reporters in middle and southern Taiwan. Besides, the Liberty Times Weekender adopted the ¡§step-by-step¡¨ planning strategies to produce local consumption news. But because of the less experiences in touch with media of the local interviewees, there were usually refusing cases and increased the time cost for local consumption reporters to produce news. While local consumption reporters of the Weekender produced news, they frequently faced the innate limits, and the most common problems were bad allocation of resources and lack of communication.
This study considered that Liberty Times indeed improved the retail rate on weekend market after the release of Weekender, which contributed to the survival of newspaper office. But it might be insufficient to win from the battle lines on news marker if only to reform specific layouts on specific dates, it would be a lasting good order to have comprehensive review and innovation. Furthermore, the situations that interfere with the production of consumption news, such as notifications of supportable interview, the list of friendly and unfriendly clients, and informercials, became better than past. We also hoped that the operator of newspaper office could proceed to keep principles and make the production of consumption news get rid of advertisement profits. On the production of local consumption news, we suggested that Liberty Times should give educational training to local consumption reporters, and establish local Weekender editiorial office to embody the spirit of local editing.
This Study also remided those who want to be or have been a newspaper consumption reporters, it was not just like the past. You have to rush around the streets, gather materials approaching readers¡¦ needs, interview and take photos personally at the scene, even face the ruthless refusal from interviewees, instead of dressing fashionably, lineing up to receive a gift, being fed by PR practitioner. As to the superintendents of government institution, we suggested them to distinguish the standards and differences between news and advertisements and to invite editiorial chiefs from all kinds of media, experts and savants in journalism and mass communication, consumer protection groups and general public making reasonable regulations of consumption news together. In this way, there would be a best balance among enactments, freedom of information, and readers¡¦ right to know.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0119109-161746
Date19 January 2009
CreatorsChou, Kuan-hong
ContributorsChing-ning Wang, Kuang-wu Koai, Chih-hsien Chen
PublisherNSYSU
Source SetsNSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive
LanguageCholon
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0119109-161746
Rightsunrestricted, Copyright information available at source archive

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