These are trophies. I’ll tell you in a minute why they are there.

As I have discussed before, news serves a cultural function. It tells people what to believe, how to believe it, and sometimes why they should believe it. Such a cultural role maintains the dominant ideology and maintains the power of those in charge.

News narratives — familiar stories that construct a way of telling about issues that otherwise would be confusing to the audience — is an example of how journalists construct culturally significant tales. See my post on mothers who kill their children, for instance.

But what can be confusing about this conversation can be understanding how news “makes sense” or how it doesn’t. It’s the news, you might say. What’s not to understand? Continue reading →