Scholarly evaluations of the quality of news are often negative, sometimes scathingly so. The rise of soft news and market-driven journalism in recent years has increased the intensity of this criticism. This article argues, however, that much criticism of news is based on an ideal of citizenship and a standard of quality that are neither realistic nor necessary for the functioning of democracy. The article therefore proposes a new, less demanding standard of quality and defends it as adequate to the informational needs of citizens in a democracy.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
John Zaller (2003) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 2 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: