European University Institute Library

On press, the liberal values that shaped the news, Matthew Pressman

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

On press

bibliography

1020312292

Matthew Pressman

the liberal values that shaped the news

In the 1960s and 70s the American press forged a new set of values. Threatened with obsolescence by the proliferation of new competitors, pressured to rectify their treatment of minorities and women, denounced as biased by both the left and the right, the country's leading news organizations made fundamental changes. They shifted from simply reporting the news to analyzing it. They adopted a more adversarial approach to those in power. They continued to strive for objectivity, but they did so in a way that left many outside their newsrooms (and many on the inside) deeply dissatisfied. In many ways they became more liberal. Powerful institutions like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times--the two newspapers this book scrutinizes--transformed themselves, with major ramifications for the rest of the news media and for the country as a whole. On Press shows how these changes occurred, why they persisted for three decades after the 1970s, and why the media is reassessing long-held values once again in the Trump era.--, Provided by publisher

Introduction: Liberal values, not liberal bias -- Opening the door to interpretation -- Objectivity and the right: a worthy ideal abandoned -- Objectivity and the left: an ideal worth abandoning -- The reader-oriented newspaper -- Minorities and women in the newsroom: a two-pronged struggle -- The press and the powerful: from allies to adversaries -- American journalism and its values, 1980-2018: validation, devastation, alteration