pt. I. The process and practice of everyday journalism. An interactional and ethnographic approach to news media language : Contradictory perceptions about news media behaviors ; The ethnographic advantage ; Exploring news and news language from the perspective of the practitioner ; Influences on media language and discourse ; Characteristics and tendencies of media language ; Conclusion: process and practice, underexplored dimensions
Craft and community: reading the ways of journalists : Articulating primary values ; The craft ethos ; The community factor ; Conclusion: locating and understanding news priorities
The ways reporters learn to report and editors learn to edit : "Ways of speaking" ; Socialization into news culture ; Loci of learning ; Conclusion: the apprentice model and journalistic practice
pt. II. Conceptualizing the news. News values and their significance in text and practice : Determining "newsworthiness" ; News values govern journalistic practice ; News judgment and "instinct" ; Similarity and variation ; Conclusion: the role of news values
The "story meeting": deciding what's fit to print : What happens at a story meeting: The Oakland Tribune ; Role of news values in story meetings ; Other news-community values ; Boundaries and norms of professional behavior ; Conclusion: news priorities in relation to practice
The interaction-based nature of journalism : Interaction through practice ; The supremacy of the local ; Loci of interaction ; The pseudo-relationship between news media and community ; Conclusion: identifying interaction in the journalistic context
pt. III. Constructing the story: texts and contexts. Story design and the dictates of the "lead" : Principles of newswriting ; Story design ; The lead ; Conclusion" the importance of craft
"Boilerplate": simplifying stories, anchoring text, altering meaning : News discourse rules and boilerplate ; Features of boilerplate ; Implications of boilerplate ; Conclusion: responsibility and "neutral" text production
Style and standardization in news language : Background: language standardization ; Language standardization in the news context ; Journalists and language: complaints, values, and injunctions ; Changes and innovations in news style ; Conclusion: language awareness and journalistic identity
pt. IV. Decoding the discourse. The impact of the news process on media language : Delivering the news ; Coherence of the text ; Linguists as "experts" in news stories
Appendices : 1. Story samples ; 2. Outline guide for the analysis of news media language ; 3. SPJ code of ethics.