Table of Contents
Issue #4 as well as supplement added at the end.
Communication Research Trends:
Bias in the News
vol. 1 no. 4 1980
Research Trends in Religious Communication:
The Contribution of Research to News Reform
vol. 1 no. 4 1980
Abstract
Over the past 100 to 150 years, print and now broadcast news have built an image as the vital support of democratic public decision-making. Journalists have presented themselves as the watchdog of government, a Fourth Estate. The ideals of freedom of the press and objectivity of news are revered as sacred institutions.
Current research on newsmaking is questioning profoundly the validity of these claims. Some researchers conclude that the snippets ofinformation in the evening news cover over deeper issues and only create an illusion of being informed. TV news is increasingly designed as entertainment, little different &om the soaps that precede and follow it. The problem, it is argued, is not deliberate intent to mislead, but a subtle, systematic distortion inherent in today's accepted news gathering practices. This issue reviews research on four aspects of the debate: 1) the social origins of newsmaking; 2) distortion in news production; 3) analysis of news content; and 4) how the public uses news information.
Recommended Citation
(1980)
"Bias in the News,"
Communication Research Trends: Vol. 1:
No.
4, Article 1.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/crt/vol1/iss4/1