|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
Self-Appointed Guardians of the Nation's Virtue
| Article
# : |
10320 |
|
|
Section : |
Book World
|
| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
3,649 Words |
| Author
: |
Cynthia Grenier
Cynthia Grenier is contributing editor to the Arts section of
The World & I. |
There was a time in the days before the Pentagon Papers and Watergate brought glory to the media when journalists viewed themselves by-and-large as ink-stained wretches with a job to do. At best, they fancied themselves a hard-working, hard-drinking lot like the characters of Charles MacArthur's well-known play The Front Page. Amazingly, there was an era when journalist rated just above sanitation worker in one survey that ranked the desirability of professions in the United States. In those days, not a single journalist was paid anything remotely like a million dollars.
Unquestionably, the media's position in society has changed radically. Today journalism is a prestige, glamour profession. The media elite is influential and rich. How, we may ask, did this change come about? Who exactly is today's journalist? What role do the powerful media play in shaping society?
A new, genuinely impressive sociological survey by Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter, and Linda S. Lichter explores the nature and character of today's media. Their book, The Media Elite, casts a cool, perceptive eye on surveys of 240 people who work for the national media: ABC, CBS, NBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report.
The questions these journalists were asked dealt with their backgrounds, voting habits, and attitudes on social issues. They also responded to psychological tests designed to disclose their motivations and biases. Content analyses of how the major news outlets covered three of the ongoing controversial issues of the past fifteen years were also
... (1965 of 22418 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
