Answer to Question #298086 in Political Science for Chathu

Question

As stated by Gans(1979), Tuchman(11973), and Schudson(1995) why do journalists professionally behave in the way they do?

Answer 1

Journalists are professional people, trying to work within a code of professional ethics. Journalists write stories for their readers to tell them what is going on, to inform them, engage them, entertain them, shock them, amuse them, disturb them, uplift them. The subject matter will vary according to the nature of the publication and the intended audience. Journalists claim to adhere to cannons of objectivity and neutrality, but these norms are by no means ideologically free in fact, they are predicated on a generally unarticulated commitment to the established order and deeply anchored in the enduring values of the social system.