
Reports & Papers
Documentary at Risk: Strategies for Ethics, Sustainability, and Innovation in a Time of Disruption
Journalism, Media Business Models, Media Creation, Media Standards & Practices
This report by Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at the Shorenstein Center, asks if the news media do well and also do good? Can they meet their need to attract audiences and also fulfill their responsibility to inform the public?
The news has changed greatly during the past two decades. In response to the intensely competitive media environment created by cable news and entertainment, news outlets have softened their coverage. Their news has also become increasingly critical in tone. Yet soft news and critical journalism have not stopped the decline in news audiences. Cable television and the Internet have cut deeply into the readership of newspapers and news magazines and into the viewing audiences for network and local newscasts. Soft news and critical journalism, whatever their initial effect, may now be hastening the decline in news audiences. Evidence also suggests that soft news and critical journalism are weakening the foundation of democracy by diminishing the public’s information about public affairs and its interest in politics.
This report presents evidence that suggests that attracting audiences and informing the public are compatible and mutually reinforcing. Patterson argues:
These arguments are based on a two-year news study that included national surveys designed to measure Americans’ news habits, interests and preferences, and a content analysis of 5,331 news stories.
Reports & Papers
Commentary
Reports & Papers