The objective reporting of news is discussed in this paper as a moral obligation for professional journalists. Russian journalists' disparagement of objectivity is described briefly, and three basic assumptions to which journalists in the United States should subscribe are listed: (1) there is such a thing as objective reality, (2) that reality…

A study examined newspaper coverage of the United States' withdrawal from Unesco to determine whether the public was given a balanced picture of the issues involved and to examine the degree of impartiality of the coverage of one specific issue, the New World Information Order. The study analyzed reports that appeared in American daily newspapers…

To determine whether journalists withhold mobilizing information (any information that allows people to act on the attitudes and desires they already have), 56 professional journalists were asked to edit a nine-paragraph story about a wave of beetles that supposedly threatened large stands of timber. There were two versions of this story: the…

Professional journalists need to be encouraged in their quest for objectivity if the news media are to be saved from degenerating into political journals and propaganda organs. Sociologist Karl Mannheim's theory of relationalism could be the basis for an improved approach to journalistic practice and should be required reading for journalism…

The purpose of this paper is to express the importance of visual/media literacy and the teaching of critical television viewing. An awareness of the properties and characteristics of television--including camera angles and placement, editing, and emotionally involving subject matter--aids viewers in the critical viewing process. The knowledge of…

Content analysis was employed in an examination of nine major metropolitan daily newspapers to determine how they portrayed both black and white members of the United States House of Representatives from l979 to l983. Specifically, the study examined the amount of coverage given to a sample of 16 black and 16 white representatives, the way…

A four-month investigation was conducted of media coverage of two controversies involving government officials in Detroit, Michigan. Data were gathered from three sources: journalists involved in covering the stories, people involved in the stories, and the printed stories. Using public documents, the history of one of the controversies was…

It is difficult for newspaper editors and reporters to maintain journalistic objectivity when covering a city's urban structure and development because of their traditional civic involvement and because of a civic ideology shared with urban experts and chamber of commerce boosters. News values and editorial policy are often implicit varieties of…

This paper presents a conceptual analysis of bias and outlines the complexity and subtlety of the questions engulfing bias by sorting out views of bias that have been implicit in debates about the media, assessing the scientific value of these competing views in identifying and understanding bias in the media, offering an alternative view which is…

The relationship between the schools and the press who reports about them is the subject of this paper. It contains four speeches made at a 1973 meeting of the Council for Basic Education held in Washington D.C. Two school officials and two journalists offer their views on such subjects as training for educational writers, press bias, and the role…

In January 1983, the American public read or saw hard-hitting allegations of leftist bias by the National Council of Churches (NCC) in the largest circulation magazine, "Reader's Digest," and on the top-rated television program, "60 Minutes." A study examined the extent to which the media set the agenda for debate on this…

A study compared the three major American television networks' early evening newscast coverage of 1984 vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro's financial status, specifically examining the emphasis placed on the story and seeking to determine whether coverage was objective or biased. Early evening network newscasts (excluding weekends) for…

The purpose of this study is to present systematic findings concerning bias in TV news coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign and to describe the kinds of coverage that the candidates and parties received during the campaign. News about the election was analyzed from weekday network evening news programs, AP day and night wire coverage, a…

To provide a better understanding of the depictions of countries by the news media, it is necessary to determine whether similar portraits are presented in all types of reporting or whether there are different, or even contradictory, portrayals of foreign countries within individual newspapers considered nationally influential. A study examined…

Coverage of Chicanos by the news media, almost nonexistent until the mid-1960s, still has not achieved full balance or objectivity. It is important for media personnel to develop greater competence in handling Chicano coverage since the Latino group, of which Chicanos are the largest segment, are the nation's fastest growing population group…