Objectivity has long been contentious in American journalism. Many practitioners call it essential to a news organization's credibility. Critics, however, hold objectivity is impossible and urge reporters simply to reveal their biases. For educators, teaching objectivity is challenging. Some, seeking a middle ground, instead urge fairness and…

A contribution to the debate on the journalism of opinion. (Author)

This article focuses on how five journalists arrived at their decisions about how to report policy, particularly educational policy. It is part of a larger study that takes the position that the media play a central role in educational policy-making and that educators need to understand the power that journalists working within corporate…

A study focused on isolating the differences in perceptions community newspaper editors have about the functions of their newspapers, and determining how those attitudes affect the editors' definition of news and, ultimately, the content of the newspapers. The study hypothesized (1) that the perceptions community newspaper editors have toward the…

Examines criminal defendants' perceptions of the free press/fair trial issue with respect to perceived influences of media coverage on the disposition of criminal cases and the outcome of criminal trials. Concludes that the press' influence on trials is generally perceived as minimal and fair. (MM)

Holding enormous if controversial power as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover was sometimes controlled unexpectedly at the highest reaches of government, as illustrated by his failed attempt to obtain an Espionage Act indictment against the black press during World War II. Following anarchist bombings in 1919,…

A descriptive study based on Egyptian law, printed sources, and interviews clarifies our picture of the Egyptian Press by examining its status as a constitutionally mandated "Fourth Estate." The constitutional amendment, the resultant Egyptian Press Law, and the "Law Of Shame" (all passed in 1980), are designed to create a…

As the principal writer for the "Wayward Press" column in "The New Yorker," A. J. Liebling commented on and criticized the press from May 1945 through April 1963. This book, a new edition of one originally published in 1961, contains many of the articles which Liebling wrote and includes material which has not appeared in any…

To assess the roles of TV news commentators during times of crisis, a study examined network news commentary during the 10 days following each of three crises--Spiro Agnew's resignation (October 10, 1973), the Saturday Night Massacre (October 22, 1973), and the seizure of the American merchant ship "Mayaguez" by Cambodians (May 11,…

Virtue in journalism implies a clearsighted expansion of outlook and requires determined attempts to cross boundaries separating the journalist from society, journalist from subject, journalist from journalist, journalist from ideas, journalist from sentiments and feelings, and journalist from "inner abundance." Some of the requirements for the…