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)

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…

The predicament of journalism as both an objective observer and a subjective participant is examined in this paper. Among the topics discussed are some basic ethical entanglements involved in the dilemma; regional newspapers that have been legendary for personal-involvement journalism; current evidence that journalistic performance is being…

This book attempts to show how the relationship between the American daily press and other social institutions determines the press's definition of news, where it seeks news, and how that news is presented. Chapter 1 discusses news as a force of information, examines news as a sociological problem, and describes the difficulty of defining news.…

Examines the media's response to Utah Congressional Representative Allan T. Howe's arrest for the misdemeanor charge of soliciting. (KS)

Attempts to explain why, despite its importance and expensiveness, education is generally neglected in the American press. Suggests that a major reason might be a lack of reliable outcome measures in education, which limits the amount of "hard" educational news. (KH)

Reviews four major criticisms of media coverage of social science--oversimplification, premature closure, lack of concern with the methodological and theoretical competence of the social science reported, and biased selection--and concludes they are largely justified. Argues that such shortcomings are explicable, given the structure and operating…

Surveys U.S. wire service coverage of foreign countries. Results indicate that while less well-developed countries are not neglected in favor of more developed countries, the focus is generally on conflicts and crises in the Third World and on political and military activity and crime in the more developed nations. (JMF)

A cornerstone of twentieth century journalism is the concept of objectivity. This experimental study explores psychological pressures on the reporter in a theoretical framework of balance theory and social perception. Specifically, it deals with reporters' attitudes toward their sources, their expectation of a future meeting with the sources, and…

Reasons are given for media myopia about higher education, and suggestions are made for improving news media perceptions: (1) using personalities to enhance the university's image; (2) establishing a program for making faculty expertise available to the media; (3) emphasizing solutions, not problems; and (4) taking risks. (MSE)

Surveys measures of press behavior; reports on the testing of J. Galtung and M. Ruge's theory about the structure of news. Concludes that there are three major dimensions to press response to events: the decision to record the event, and considerations regarding space allocation and reader attention. (GT)

While Caribbean countries complained during the 1970s about negative coverage at the hands of Western journalists, scholars have observed that local Caribbean media were not providing adequate news coverage from the region either. A study examined 245 news stories sent by English-speaking Caribbean journalists to CNN World Report over a five-year…