Media Industry

A Brookings/Harvard Forum

Introduction and Summary These are the best of times and the worst of times for the news media when it comes to public support. By and large, Americans continue to praise the press for its coverage of the war on terrorism, here and abroad. So much so that the general image of the media has, […]

Local newsrooms beset by sponsor interference, budget cuts, layoffs, and added programming.

Introduction and Summary Reports of new anthrax cases in New York and elsewhere are not raising public anxiety or further demoralizing Americans. Reports of depression, sleeplessness and concern over renewed terrorism have not increased following the news on Oct. 12 that an NBC employee had been infected with anthrax. In the wake of those reports, […]

Introduction and Summary Americans are standing tall at a time of crisis — they are united in their approval of the nation’s leaders, paying rapt attention to news, and say they are willing to suffer thousands of military casualties in a protracted conflict to retaliate for last week’s terrorist attacks. But at the same time […]

Introduction and Summary Six months into her husband’s presidency, Laura Bush has made a positive impression on the American public. A strong majority (64%) has a favorable opinion of the first lady, and most approve of the way she’s handling her job. Although her predecessor, Hillary Clinton, drew a comparable favorability rating of 60% at […]

Senator Lieberman Gave First Major Speech on Religion and Politics Since Campaign at Forum Launch “The challenge ahead of us now, if we hope to respond to the public’s yearning for a better balance between faith and freedom, is as much political as it is legal. Those of us who are seeking a suitable space […]

Coming from press critics, the following may strike some as out of character: We believe journalism should be praised for its work in the wild epilogue of election 2000. One reason the American people seemed calm but fascinated during the spectacle--even as they witnessed sometimes disgraceful ta ...

As we watch the Overtime Campaign of the 2000 election, the headache of reporting it continues. Election night, when the networks made erroneous projections about who had won, was probably the worst moment in the 50-year history of television coverage of politics. Newspapers that prematurely misc ...

Introduction and Summary Voters generally believe the media has been fair to both major presidential candidates, but more say the press has been fair to Al Gore than to George W. Bush. Fully 74% of voters say the vice president has gotten fair press treatment, while 65% say the same about Bush. Nearly six-in-ten voters […]