Bad News,Bad Governance

Abstract

There has been a quiet revolution in news reporting during the past few decades. The traditional descriptive style of reporting has given way to an interpretive style that empowers journalists by giving them more control over content. One consequence is a form of news coverage that focuses on the negative aspects of politics. This development contributes to the public's dissatisfaction with its political leaders and institutions and makes it more difficult for officials to govern effectively. The news media's version of reality is exceedingly narrow and cannot be justified by either the journalists' knowledge of political relationships or their position in the political system. The problem would be lessened by a model of reporting that subordinates the voice of the journalist and aims for a more balanced portrayal of the workings of the political system.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. “No Newt Is Good Newt,” Media Monitor (Center for Media and Public Affairs), pp. 2-5 (Mar.-Apr. 1995).

2. Edith Efron , The News Twisters (Los Angeles: Nash, 1971), p. 47.

3. “No Newt Is Good Newt,” p. 2.

4. “They're No Friends of Bill,” Media Monitor (Center for Media and Public Affairs), pp. 2-5 (Jul.-Aug. 1994).

5. “The Honeymoon That Wasn't,” Media Monitor (Center for Media and Public Affairs), pp. 2-3 (Sept.-Oct. 1993).

S. Robert Lichter and Stanley Rothman , “Media and Business Elites,” Public Opinion, p. 42 (Oct.-Nov. 1981).

7. “Congress's Sour Finish,” New York Times, 8 Oct. 1994.

8. “No Newt Is Good Newt,” p. 2.

9. “The Honeymoon That Wasn't,” p. 4.

10.

10. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 31 Dec. 1994, p. 3620.

11.

11. Thomas E. Patterson , Out of Order (New York: Vintage, 1994), p. 245.

12.

12. Austin Ranney , Channels of Power (New York: Basic Books, 1983), pp. 52-55.

13.

13. Kristi Andersen and Stuart J. Thorson , “Public Discourse or Strategic Game? Changes in Our Conception of Elections,” Studies in American Political Development, 3:273 (1989).

14.

14. Paul Weaver , “Is Television News Biased?” Public Interest, 27:69 (1972).

15.

15. Quoted in Michael Robinson and Margaret Sheehan , Over the Wire and on TV (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1983), p. 226.

16.

16. Patterson , Out of Order, p. 82.

17.

17. Weaver , “Is Television News Biased?” pp. 67-69.

18.

18. “Clinton's the One,” Media Monitor (Center for Media and Public Affairs), p. 2 (Nov. 1992).

19.

19. Catherine A. Steele and Kevin G. Barnhurst , “The Growing Dominance of Opinionated Journalism in U.S. Presidential Campaign Television Coverage, 1968 and 1988” (Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 25-30 May 1995), p. 6.

20.

20. Quoted in Max Kampelman , “The Power of the Press,” Policy Review, 7:18 (Fall 1978).

21.

21. James Reston , “End of the Tunnel,” New York Times, 30 Apr. 1975.

22.

Irving Kristol , “Crisis over Journalism,” in Press, Politics, and Popular Government, ed. George Will (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1972), p. 50.

23.

23. Paul Taylor , See How They Run (New York: Knopf, 1990), p. 23.

24.

24. See Larry Sabato , Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism Has Changed American Politics (New York: Free Press, 1991).

25.

25. Michael Robinson , “Improving Election Information in Media” (Paper delivered at Voting for Democracy Forum, Washington, DC, Sept. 1983), p. 2.

26.

Jeff Fishel , Presidents and Promises (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1985), pp. 38, 42-43.

27.

27. Patterson , Out of Order, p. 20.

28.

28. Ibid.

29.

29. Ibid., pp. 21-22.

30.

30. Ibid., p. 23.

31.

31. Meg Greenfield , “The Anxiety of Choosing Sides,” Newsweek, 20 Oct. 1980, p. 108.

32.

32. George Will , “Debates Keep Them of the Streets,” Syracuse Post-Standard, 15 Oct. 1992.

33.

33. Walter Lippmann , Public Opinion (1922; reprint ed., New York: Free Press, 1965), p. 229.

34.

34. Quoted in Edward Jay Epstein , News from Nowhere (New York: Random House, 1973), p. ix.

35.

35. “No Newt Is Good Newt,” p. 2.