News nets

News nets are a metaphor adopted to explain the standard practice of gathering news. News organizations are constructed of a variety of different sources such as wire services, full-time reporters, and stringers. All of these create a 'net' that the news organization uses to catch newsworthy happenings. Because the net has holes in it, only the largest things are caught. The nets filter out the smaller, less important pieces of information and setting the focus on those stories perceived to be more important (Croteau 125). The news must be more selective in what it chooses to report because of money and time constraints, as well as the impossibility of being present for every single story across the globe. The flow of information is restricted by practicality in addition to any conscious censorship.

Source

• Croteau, David & Hoynes, William. Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks: 2000.