The press

de Geneva Overholser, Kathleen Hall Jamieson

This second volume in the series Institutions of American Democracy takes a close look at the role of the press in a democracy through a collection of essays by journalists and scholars. The essays examine the orientation of the press in a democracy, the function of the press in democracies, the government and the press, the structure and nature of the American press, and the future of news and journalism. The collection is aimed at correcting mistaken impressions about American media, inside and outside of the U.S., that mainstream conventional journalism is the only "legitimate" journalism; that journalism as practiced currently in the U.S. is the only valid model; and that American journalism is not affected by journalistic trends and developments in other nations. The essayists consider the role of the press as watchdog in a democracy, the importance of advocacy journalism in protecting the rights of minorities, alternative models for news delivery, the growing trend toward profit-oriented media monopolies, and the function of the press in wartime.