Avoiding the News

Name: Avoiding the News
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SKU: 9780231205191
Price: 60.99 NZD
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Reluctant Audiences for Journalism

By Benjamin Toff and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Ruth Palmer

Series: Reuters Institute Global Journalism Series

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Summary

Avoiding the News explores why and how significant numbers of people in countries like Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States deliberately consume little or no news despite its widespread availability. Based on extensive interviews and survey data, the book investigates the personal, ideological, and infrastructural factors influencing news avoidance, including mistrust, emotional impact, and perceived irrelevance. It highlights the societal risks this trend poses, particularly regarding inequalities, and stresses the need for a more empathetic approach in journalism to engage news-averse audiences.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Avoiding the News

$60⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This thought-provoking work is ideal for scholars, journalists, media professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in media studies and the societal impact of news consumption behaviours.

This groundbreaking book explains why and how so many people consume little or no news despite unprecedented abundance and ease of access.

Description

Avoiding the News is the Winner of the 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title.

A small but growing number of people in many countries consistently avoid the news. They feel they do not have time for it, believe it is not worth the effort, find it irrelevant or emotionally draining, or do not trust the media, among other reasons. Why and how do people circumvent news? Which groups are more and less reluctant to follow the news? In what ways is news avoidance a problem—for individuals, for the news industry, for society—and how can it be addressed?

This groundbreaking book explains why and how so many people consume little or no news despite unprecedented abundance and ease of access. Drawing on interviews in Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States as well as extensive survey data, Avoiding the News examines how people who tune out traditional media get information and explores their "folk theories" about how news organisations work.

The authors argue that news avoidance is about not only content but also identity, ideologies, and infrastructures: who people are, what they believe, and how news does or does not fit into their everyday lives. Because news avoidance is most common among disadvantaged groups, it threatens to exacerbate existing inequalities by tilting mainstream journalism even further toward privileged audiences.

Ultimately, this book shows, persuading news-averse audiences of the value of journalism is not simply a matter of adjusting coverage but requires a deeper, more empathetic understanding of people's relationships with news across social, political, and technological boundaries.

Series: Reuters Institute Global Journalism Series

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Avoiding the News

By Benjamin Toff and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Ruth Palmer

Paperback

$60⁹⁹

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as "urgent, necessary reading" by Melissa Bell of Vox Media, the book is recognised for its meticulous research and empathetic approach. Nick Couldry from the London School of Economics commends it as a sociologically rigorous study that sets new standards in communications research, emphasising its importance for democratic culture. Katherine Cramer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison describes it as beautifully written, offering deep insights into people's complex relationships with news.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780231205191

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 December 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Columbia University Press

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

Collections

Benjamin Toff Education & Reference Non-Fiction Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Ruth Palmer Series: Reuters Institute Global Journalism Series

About the Author

Benjamin Toff is assistant professor in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota.

Ruth Palmer is associate professor of communication and digital media at IE University in Madrid and Segovia, Spain.

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and professor of political communication at the University of Oxford.

Avoiding the News