This Shorenstein Center report includes transcripts from a conference sponsored by the Shorenstein Center, featuring keynote speeches from Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post and Ellen Goodman, author and journalist, as well as research on women’s engagement with political news by Shauna Shames of Rutgers University and Marion Just of Wellesley College. Download the […]
A paper by Elizabeth A. Stein, spring 2007 fellow, evaluates the theory that in authoritarian regimes, leaders of civil society follow the mainstream press not so much for the specific information it provides, but rather as a barometer for the government’s tolerance for opposition activities or to gauge the government’s ability to quash such activities.
This study by the Shorenstein Center and the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that in the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, the media had already winnowed the race to mostly five candidates and offered Americans relatively little information about their records or what they would do if elected. The press also gave
A paper by Charles Lewis, spring 2006 fellow, argues that despite the growing audience for non-profit news outlets such as NPR, there are few such organizations that have a sustained commitment to investigative reporting. This paper discusses four nonprofit investigative journalism organizations on three continents dedicated solely to publishing investigative content: the largest in the
The Growing Importance of Nonprofit Journalism Read More »
A paper by Allan M. Siegal, fall 2006 fellow, argues that while mainstream journalists almost uniformly advocate self-restraint on sensitive intelligence and military secrets, press and government are clearly unable to agree on definitions of “sensitive.” This paper examines vetting arrangements described by journalists and capsule case histories of both agreement and refusal to withhold
Secrets about Secrets: The Backstage Conversations between Press and Government Read More »
A paper by Jill Carroll, fall 2006 fellow, argues that media companies that cut back on foreign bureaus and correspondents are making a financial miscalculation and missing an opportunity to capitalize on an undervalued asset. High-quality foreign news coverage is in demand by readers and viewers, particularly by middle-aged, upper income consumers – an attractive
Foreign News Coverage: The U.S. Media’s Undervalued Asset Read More »
A paper by Marvin Kalb, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice Emeritus, follows the trajectory of the media from objective observer to fiery advocate in the Israeli-Hezbollah War, based on content analysis of global media and interviews with many diplomats and journalists. The paper also shows how an open society, Israel, is victimized by its
The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict Read More »
A speech delivered by John S. Carroll, Knight Visiting Lecturer 2005-2006 (deceased), at the 2006 meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors addresses the technological changes facing the news industry, but more importantly, a conflict between the business and editorial sides of newspapers. Carroll discusses new models of ownership, and the problems that can
What Will Become of Newspapers? Read More »
A paper by Kevin Ryan, fall 2005 fellow, argues that Army manpower is a subject that is often misunderstood and misreported. How does the status of Army manpower affect the nation’s War on Terror? What if the manpower demands of concurrent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have sapped the country’s ability to deploy to the next
Army Manpower and the War on Terror Read More »
A paper by Cristine Russell, spring 2006 fellow, surveys the state of science journalism, and finds that as the pace of new developments in science and technology quickens, journalists are increasingly confronted with covering complicated technical information as well as the potential social, legal, religious, and political consequences of scientific research. More coverage of the
Covering Controversial Science: Improving Reporting on Science and Public Policy Read More »
A paper by William Powers, fall 2006 fellow, makes the case that although print publications and paper are falling out of favor with the rise of digital technology, paper does still perform some tasks better. There are cognitive, cultural and social dimensions to the human-paper dynamic that come into play every time any kind of
Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper Is Eternal Read More »
A paper by Robert G. Picard, spring 2006 fellow, considers why news organizations have difficulty creating value. Picard argues that journalism and the news must improve value creation for five central stakeholders: consumers, advertisers, investors, journalists, and society. This paper examines why and how these organizations are delivering low value, shows why new value creation
Journalism, Value Creation and the Future of News Organizations Read More »
A paper by Kimberly Gross, spring 2006 fellow, examines the nature of local television news coverage of crime and its effects on emotional response. Gross presents the results of a content analysis of two months of local television news coverage of crime from a network affiliate in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Consistent with what
Covering Crime in Washington, D.C. Read More »
A paper by Julia Baird, spring 2005 fellow, examines the export of American thought by documenting the presence of American columnists on newspaper opinion pages around the world in the 2000s. Baird assesses what impact, if any, 9/11 and the war in Iraq had on the demand for American opinion by editors who act as
A paper by David Anable, fall 2005 fellow, examines the role of the Georgian media in the country’s Rose Revolution and the impact that Western media development aid played in enabling this to occur. It also looks at what has happened to the country’s media since the revolution, at the U.S. policies underlying the aid
The Role of Georgia’s Media — and Western Aid — in the Rose Revolution Read More »
A paper by Douglas Ahlers, spring 2005 fellow, looks at the hypothesized shift of news consumption from the traditional media to the online news media. Ahlers argues that the hypothesized mass migration of news consumption behavior is not supported by the facts. Two-thirds of the U.S. adult population had not shifted to online news consumption
News Consumption and the New Electronic Media Read More »
A paper by Barbie Zelizer, spring 2004 fellow, addresses the formulaic dependence of the news media on images of people facing impending death. Considering one example of this depiction – U.S. journalism’s photographic coverage of the killing of the Taliban by the Northern Alliance during the war on Afghanistan – the paper traces its strategic
Death in Wartime: Photographs and the “Other War” in Afghanistan Read More »
A paper by Richard Schultz, spring 2005 fellow, analyzes the debate surrounding the FCC’s Diversity Index and explores the question of how to best measure media diversity. Given the centrality of media diversity as a longstanding policy goal of the FCC, the question of what constitutes diversity must be at the heart of any attempt
Measuring Media Diversity: Problems and Prospects Read More »
Alex Sanders, fall 2004 fellow, writes about his run for the Senate, as a Democratic nominee from South Carolina to succeed J. Strom Thurmond, and recounts his experience – mostly positive – with handling the press. The paper also draws some larger conclusions about the relationship of reporters and politicians, and the implications for democracy.
A paper by David Rohde, spring 2005 fellow, examines American efforts to create a vibrant free press in Iraq and Afghanistan. A $200 million project in Iraq was the largest attempt ever by the United States, or any country, to help create independent media in another nation. Run by the Pentagon, it was a near
The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center dedicated to exploring and illuminating the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center strives to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public.
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