Entertainment or Education

Abstract

In this study, the authors look at how the media cover the courts and the balance they strike between entertaining the audience and educating it. The authors expected that the rise of market-driven journalism combined with the increase in cameras in the courtroom has encouraged coverage of the judicial branch that is dramatic and designed to attract an audience rather than to inform and educate about the judicial process. Using a content analysis of local television and newspaper coverage of the courts in five media markets, the authors found that while coverage is not devoid of informative and even explanatory content, its subject matter and emphasis on the most accessible facets of the judicial process appear to be driven by audience and market considerations. Two case studies provide evidence that cameras contribute to the dramatization of court reporting.