Public Perceptions of Newspaper's Watchdog Role

The watchdog concept, that the press is supposed to serve as an overseer of government, is among the oldest principles in journalism. Through most of American history, the watchdog role of the press was also among the nation's most revered principles. However, with the slow but steady erosion of the public's faith in the mass media,(1) it is debatable whether the watchdog role of the press is still intact. Do people still consider that being a watchdog is one of the press' roles in modern society? How much emphasis does the public place on the press' watchdog responsibility today? And, assuming the concept is still intact, what types of newspaper users are most supportive of the press' watchdog role? Given the recent resurgence of academic interest in the topic,(2) this study served as an exploratory survey on the current status of public perceptions of the watchdog role of the press. It is an analysis of a limited public opinion survey, yet its findings suggest on-going research into what might be a subtle change in the public's expectation of the media's watchdog role. As a follow-up to the exploratory survey, this study reports impressions from two focus groups that offered further insights about the public's current perception of the media's role. Taken as a whole, these investigations suggest directions for a national study of the public's watchdog role concept. The watchdog role: A brief overview The press' role in being a watchdog over government originated with Edmund Burke's 17th century pronouncement in England that the press had become a Third Estate in Parliament.(3) But it was not until the 18th century that Cato's Letters, a series of letters written in England that advocated a free press, were widely reprinted in the colonies(4a)nd began the American idea of the press being a fourth estate, a watchdog of government.(5) Establishing the right of an unfettered press was tied to the American Revolution and was a 1760s precursor to independence for the colonies.(6) Still, it is questionable whether the authors of the Bill of Rights intended the First Amendment as a guarantee of the press' checking power on government.(7) Yet during the post-Revolutionary War period, the colonial press was a vigorous watchdog of the partisan political forces and had firmly established the watchdog principle by the turn of the century.(8) The next phase of press scrutiny stretched beyond government investigations. With the founding of the Penny Press in the 1830s and through the 1870s, newspapers widened their watchdog role to function in behalf of informing the public and uncovering excesses of power by established institutions.(9) The 1870s brought yet another dimension to the watchdog role in the form of Yellow Journalism, a previously negative term viewed now as the birth of democratic reform by U.S. newspapers which also included exposing government corruption.(10) Some of the most notorious scandals, including the Whiskey Ring, purchasing Congressional votes for the Union Pacific Railway and the Tammany Ring, were targets of the watchdog press during this era. During this era, Joseph Pulitzer began his crusading journalism, which might be viewed as the ultimate weapon in the U.S. press' watchdog arsenal.(11) It was copied and perhaps taken to new heights by William Randolph Hearst as the 20th century began.(12) Even as Yellow Journalism and the crusades were continuing, the muck-raking years began with influxes from magazines and even books. This brief period (about 1900 to 1912) is considered the zenith in the press' exercise of its watchdog role because the intent was clearly to inspire action against excesses and corruption at all levels of power.(13) In all, these epochs form a robust and effective development in the press' watchdog role. They clearly establish a tradition for U.S. newspapers to scrutinize the government, to uncover wrongdoing and to challenge any semblance of official corruption on the public's behalf. …