Reports & Papers
Documentary at Risk: Strategies for Ethics, Sustainability, and Innovation in a Time of Disruption
Reports & Papers
Paint-By-Numbers Journalism: How Reader Surveys and Focus Groups Subvert a Democratic Press
Focus Areas
Journalism, Media Business Models, Media Creation, Media Standards & Practices
A paper by Alison Carper, spring 1994 fellow, responds to the increasing use of reader surveys and focus groups in journalism. She argues that this approach brings with it the risks of majoritarianism. Carper asks whether a press that takes its agendas from reader surveys and focus groups is a press that is truly fulfilling its role in American democracy.
Publications & Resources
Commentary
Independents, PBS, and the Fight for Free Speech
Reports & Papers
Can They Do Good and Still Do Well? Local TV Stations and Communities’ Information Needs