HOW THE MEDIA SUPPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY

In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 35, Heft 1, S. 80-94

Abstract

Relevant studies suggest that the MM & specifically newspapers, are generally supportive of local gov'al authority. The basic explanations given for the newspapers' supportive role are: the reporters' reliance on authority figures as a source of news; the censorial functions of gatekeepers; & publishers' vulnerability to pressure. A study of the way in which the City Council meetings in Durham, NC, are reported in the city's major newspaper, the Durham Morning Herald, leads to an additional hypothesis that a newspsper's tendency to reinforce local pol'al authority may stem from the reporter's concept of professionalism-the internalized norms which guide & structure the reporter's stories. These canons of conventional journalism include condensing & summarizing; investing events with rationality & coherence (even though the events may be confusing to the participants, & the reporter himself may not fully comprehend both what has occurred & its meaning); emphasizing the Council's decisions at the expense of its other activities; accurately conveying the specifics of these decisions; & treating the Council & its members with respect. The study was based on observation of the City Council meetings, analysis of the way in which these meetings were reported in the Herald, & a focused, informal interview with the Herald's reporter who covers the Council's meetings. The reporter's articles support the Council's authority in 3 general ways: by creating a sense of psychol'al distance between the authority & the reader; by rationalizing time & there by reducing the reader's anxiety; & by providing symbolic reassurance. A major implication of the findings is that by reporting the activities of local officials in ways supportive of their authority, the media do not increase & may diminish public interest in instit's & indivhIii,Is vested with local ool'al authority. AA.