University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1999 Who decides?: Media coverage of the proposed bank mergers Soos-Gonczol, Maria Soos-Gonczol, M. (1999). Who decides?: Media coverage of the proposed bank mergers (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/12489 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/25313 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Who Decides? Media Coverage of the Proposed Bank Mergers by Maria Soos Gonczol A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PMTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA DECEMBER, 1999 Q Maria Soos GonczoI 1999 National Library Bibliothhue nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OttawaON KIAON4 0th- ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Libracy of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distri'buer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fih, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent 2eimprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT During the last few decades there has been a fierce debate over the representation of business in the news media with serious accusations of distorted and biased reporting. This thesis attempts to test the validity of these claims by analyzing media coverage of the proposed bank mergers, which was Canada's leading business and public policy story in 1998. The aim of this case study is twofold: to examine the main characteristics of busi- ness news, drawing upon contesting theoretical perspectives, such as the liberal pluralist, conservative and hegemony models; and to contniute to a filler understanding of how the media cover a public policy debate regarding business issues in contemporary Canadian democracy. Detailed analysis of a news content of a sample of newspaper, newsmagazine, and television stories shows that the media coverage of the proposed bank mergers had serious limitations. The findings regarding sourcing patterns cast considerable doubt on the liberal pluraiist notion that conceptualizes the news media as a "public forum" where diverse viewpoints are communicated to the public. However, they provide a rough confinnation of the existence of a hierarchy of access that favours the elites. The results also suggest that the coverage was hegemonic and a site of ideological contestation and political strug- gle, yet the media maintained to some extent their traditional watchdog role. Finally, the study refutes the conservative claims concerning the anti-business bias of news reporting. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have helped me along the path to completion of this thesis and program. I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, David Taras, for his guidance and encour- agement, His enthusiasm for this topic, insighdul criticism, and meticulous reading of my numerous drafts added another dimension to the final product. Recognition is due to the members of my committee, Edna Einsiedel and Michael McMordie for their inspiring ideas and valuable comments. Very special thanks go to a number of journalists who generously gave their time to share their experiences, values, and ideas. Their fascinating anecdotes provided me with a better understanding of the many faceted world of political reporting and greatly enriched this work. Finally, my deepest thanks go to my husband and children for their understanding and patience. Their love and faith in me reinforced my belief that I can achieve anything I set my mind to, TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS o.oa..ooo~.moaooo..o.m~oaa~~m~aooommo~aooeomoooooaoaoaoommmmmmmmmmommooomoo iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.o.moma.oao.ooao*.eoaooaoooooooooomoomoooomoomaoooaoamommaooomoooomoo~mommamooaooooaoeo~ LIST OF TABLES ...m.m.........~.~..m.......mm..~..~~.......................~..~....mm......~........mm....m..vu.. LIST OF FIGURES .om.mommommmmmommmmmmma~m~mmmm~~~~omo~~~oooooooaooooooommamommmooooaaooooviii I INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................1 Media Power and the Politics of Business News ......................................... 1 Business News in Canada: The Proposed Bank Mergers ........................... 6 The Bank Mergers Debate: Milestones of the Process ...................-9 Outline of the Thesis ...................................................................... 15 n LITERATURE REVIE Wmommmammmmmmmammmaom~a~ooo~oma~~oooaoooooooooaoomomooooomoo16 Theories of the Press: The Reality of Business News ............................... 16 The Liberal Pluralist Perspective ............................................................... 17 The Conservative Perspective ........... ...................................................... 21 The LC Progressive99 Perspective............ .. .............................................. +.25 The Hegemony Model ....................... .................................................29 Kegemonic Forces and the News Media ..........*............ .....................32 The Political Economy of News Production ............... .. ............ 32 Journalistic Routines and Practices: News Values ......................... 35 Media - Business Relations: The Public Relations Offensive ....... 38 Bennett's Theory of Press - State Relations .............................................. 40 Conclusions ..................................... ,., III METHODOLOGY moooaommmmm.m.mmmma.omamoma~oomaaamamaoamooo~omooaooaaamaamommoo.oaammmmomoooooooooo.momommmma44 A Case Study of Media Coverage of the Proposed Bank Mergers ............44 Methodological Approach ................................................... .................. 45 Procedure ...................................................................................... 48 Sample Size............... ... ......................................................... 49 Genre of Articles ............................................................................ 51 Placement of Stories ................... .................... ........................+......53 Length of Stories ............................................................................ 54 Sources in the Bank Merger Debate ......................................................... 55 Defining and Responding Sources ................................................. 59 Conclusions............ ....,,..w..........L................................................................ 64 IV MEDIA CONTENT UNDER SCRUTINYommmmmo~mommommooom~ooomaooomm.ommmmmm.om.oooom.omoeooom67 Topics. Issues and Tone of Coverage............ ........ ............................ 67 The Main Focus of the Articles ................................................................ 67 Strategic Coverage Dominated the News ................................ 69 Fears and Concerns Outweighed Benefits of the Deals .................72 Personalized News: Paul Martin and Bank Executives .................76 Subtopics of the Articles ................... ....... ...*........*.*.....**.........78 'Shifting' Debate ............................................................................ 79 Issue Coverage and News Frames ........................................................... 82 Effects of the Mergers: Big W'iers and Big Losers .................... 86 Tone of Coverage ....................................................................................... 89 Conclusions................................................................................................ 92 V DISCUSSION oooommmm..omoommaom.o~mom.o~meoemmoomoo.eomooo.mmmooomoaoommommm~e~m~m~mommo.omoomoommmmommooomoo~mo95 The Role of the News Media in the Bank Merger Debate ....................... 35 Business News: "Public Fonun" or Elite Discourse? .........t.........,,,t...I.C...95 Bias in Business News ...............................................................................99 Are the Media Acting as "Watchdog" or "Adversary"? ................ 99 "Press-State ReIations" Revisited ......................................... 101 News Values: Conflict, Strategies, and Personalities............ 103 Business News: Site of Ideological Struggle ..................... ... 106 Implications for the Media, Journalists and Audiences ........................... 109 APPENDIX A CODING SHEET ...............................................................................119