Writing from news sources: The case of Apple TV

This paper is a case study of reproductive newswriting, i.e. writing from news sources. We offer a multimethodological writing process analysis of a news article announcing the product launch of Apple TV on the Belgian market. By combining interview data, keystroke logging data, frame and corpus analysis, we reconstruct the discursive strategies a senior business reporter, the third author of this paper, employs as he writes a news article from a corporate press release. Our process data highlight how reliance on ready-made source texts prompt news frames which enable reporters to write fast and efficiently while also forcing them to introduce new frames which balance the story, establish authority and maximize news value. Taken together, these analytical dimensions lay bare both the interpretive creativity and professional routines of reproductive newswriting.

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