Denigration of Authority? Television News Coverage of the Student Movement

TELEVISION NEWS, like all journalism, suffers from a paradox of functions which often seem to be at cross-purposes. On the one hand it is supposed to be nonpartisan, an unbiased transmitter of fact. On the other hand it is expected to participate in the political process as a "watchdog" for the public.' The first function implies a tacit support for the status quo by minimizing interpretation. In order to assure the purity of the facts, the reporter is discouraged from efforts at individual evaluation or explanation. In contrast, the second function implies energetic criticism of governmental performance in the name of the "public interest." In order to fulfill this duty, the reporter is encouraged to investigate and interpret the facts to their fullest extent to encourage broader public aware-