Perspectives of 'Local' News

 

France

    The news is one thing that I don't really pay attention to on a normal basis. For me, I only hear about the news through others or if whatever is going on in the world at that time is meaningful enough then I might take a peek at it. Usually, I just receive my news through my social media platforms such as Snapchat, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Instagram. With all of that being said, this paper was a little difficult for me just solely because I am not very familiar with the news and how we run our American news. 

    The news is supposed to report on things that people not only need to hear but want to hear as well and this may very well be different in every country. What is important to the citizens of one country might be near as significant to other countries. Culturally, France and America have some major differences. The first one is obvious being the languages that we speak. France is also not very big on fast food chains either so they just stick to their local fresh foods. Another big difference is the way we dress. Americans dress more casually while French fashion is more trendy and formal. Although France and America have a lot of cultural differences, the way we export media and the information we share can be alike a lot of the time.

    As far as newsworthy information in France goes, topics like budgets for war, politics, serious weather, entertainment, and other everyday local news. French and American news has their similarities along with their differences. One of the main topics floating around the news right now is Hurricane Ian. You can find information on the upcoming weather through American news and French news. On the other side of things, the biggest difference between American and French news is how the press is supported. France receives government money and financial aid that supports its news outlets while the American press doesn't. American news only receives private donations. Getting money from the government for their press also comes with some unhealthy disadvantages. In a way, the government uses this to get its foot in the door and have a say in what gets released about politics and other controversial topics. America is a little laxer on what they post and that is not always considered a bad thing. This allows the news to appear more real and less forced and what they want us to know and more of what we need to know. 

    In 2000, a law was passed in France that you could not post or release a photo if someone in the photo appeared unhappy. An example of this would be posting someone's mugshot after they have committed a crime. This is also an example of the government being in control of what the news is allowed to share. This is kind of ironic because how statistics have shown that people in France are not always the nicest people. This specific law could also allow children to take their parents to jail over a photo that the parents took of them when they were just a few years old. This seems a little harsh but they are from France. Americans are more lenient when it comes to photos and topics that they release. It is not uncommon to see someone's mugshot plastered everywhere after someone has committed a serious crime in America. I feel like posting the mugshots is a good way to educate citizens about what is going on rather than hiding information. 

    In France, I do not believe that they are allowed freedom of speech. France is very restricted by what they can post especially if it is about a controversial topic. Since France is so supported by government money, they have to follow the guidelines they give them. France has always had a history of having government censorship. Even though it is in the Bill of Rights that France is given freedom of speech, this doesn't always deem it true. Between 1950-1970 the government had a large amount of control over what was released on television and radio. As the years have gone by censorship has let up a little bit but not a whole lot. French media is funded by their government and it spins the needs in a very slanted manner compared to the way that America does.

    According to the Pew Research Center, citizens of France have very low trust in their news media. France also has relative fragmentation in its new landscape but yet no more than one-in-five reveal the same top sources for their news. There are also very obvious divides between the left and right regarding which news outlets they trust and choose to use. 48% of France says that the media news is somewhat important and at the bottom, 28% say that it is very important. Along with the news being deemed not very important to their country it is also voted as being not very trusted. 31% of France say that they somewhat trust their news sources and only 4% say they trust the news sources a lot. 

  

   As far as the types of stories that are covered go, France and the United States are very similar. When you look at websites like France 24, you will see that are very comparable in the same ways that American news sources are set up. When you look at France news outlets from a different perspective, you will see how France runs their news and the United States does where the differences come in. Like I mentioned before, France is run and funded heavily by their government so a lot of what they cover is very masked from the truth and all of the details. On the other hand, you will see that in American news you get down to the nitty-gritty and the truth. It may not always be pretty but at least you are getting the facts.