How journalists judge the ‘reality’ of an international ‘pseudo-event

A study of correspondents who covered the final withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia in 1989

Bibliographic Data

ID7477528
AuthorsJudith Clarke (Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume4
Issue1
Pages50-75
Publication date2003-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884903004001440
OpenAlexW2110657553
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited6

As proxy information-gatherers for their audiences, journalists often cover ‘pseudo-events’, whose purpose is to present to the world a version of reality set up by the organizers. These are usually people with links to wealth and power but they can also be out-groups trying to get their ‘real’ news noticed. For reporters the challenge is whether to cover these events at face value or delve deeper to find the truth. This study examines through a questionnaire and content analysis how reporters who covered Vietnam’s final withdrawal of troops from Cambodia in 1989, staged as a pseudo-event, dealt with the opposing interpretations by Vietnam, an international outcast, and its opponents, who said the pullout was a fake. The power of the pseudo-event was such that nearly all journalists accepted the Vietnamese version as it was shown to them but most also used their knowledge of the international situation as a reinforcement

Cover (algebra · Event (particle physics · Face (sociological concept · Linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Power (physics · Proxy (statistics · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Vietnamese · Computer Science · Engineering · Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis · Media Studies and Communication · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies · History

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