How does news matter,
according to the authors? What are some of the major advantages of good
journalism and some of the major disadvantages of bad journalism? (Can we add
the lack of criticism and scrutiny from the U.S. press about the
government’s decision to go to war with Iraq to the list of instances
where U.S.
journalists failed to do their job, with ill consequences?)
Briefly trace the
broad patterns of “Americans and Their News” from the “penny press” of the
1830s to the contemporary news. How have changes in government regulation,
ownership and audience tastes affected the news?
In Chapter 4, the
authors point out that most news comes from newspapers. They describe a
few good newspapers and then chronicle the negative impact of chain
ownership and the drive for ever-increasing profits on many newspapers
that accelerated in the last decade or so. Evaluate these changes and a
few of the responses papers have made to declining readership in the U.S.,
with examples from papers like the Inquirer
and Tribune, Des Moines Register
and Courier Journal and Mercury News.
How have changes in
the audience and ownership of network news affected the content of the
network news and the way the networks define the news? Have the networks
been more successful in maintaining profits or news quality in the new
environment? Are the authors convinced that the changes were a necessary
response to the new environment?
Local television news
comes in for some of the most critical evaluations by the authors. What
exactly is wrong with local television news, according to the
authors?Why is it so inadequate,
in their view? Evaluate the culture of local television news that
dominates the country’s airwaves.In what ways is this model of local news misguided, according to
the authors?
To what extent has the
actual performance of news services on the World Wide Web measured up to
its hoped-for potential, according to the authors? Why? Explain.
How have
late-twentieth century news values undermined good journalism, according
to the authors?
What about the future
of the news? Be prepared to provide a brief assessment of several of the
questions posed by the authors in the concluding chapter.