8
movement (that is, a divisive fight and some form of action such as a bill voted out of
committee). Issues that merely exist, but are not happening, are seldom the subject of any media
attention.
Conform to Popular Opinion. In service of both getting printed and avoiding negative
reaction, journalists seek to place their work firmly within the boundaries of mainstream
thinking.
As Gans (1980) found in his study of several news organizations, reporters both actively
and passively seek moderate perspectives. Actively they do this through reliance on government
sources, and the dismissal of extreme voices within the government. Passively they accomplish
this by accepting as an unchallenged fact that the U.S. system is superior with regard to
government, culture, life, and that disturbances from order are noteworthy for how they interrupt
what existed, not for how they might contribute to a new reality.
Gans cites examples including war coverage, where few fundamental questions are
initially asked, and the questions that are posed are typically directed toward generals and
administration leaders, rather than those whose views might diverge.
Cook (1989) indeed finds that Congressional members who are known primarily for their
unique political perspectives are viewed suspiciously by the press. Cook quotes former
Representative Ron Dellums lamenting that his ideas, good or bad, were not worthy of press
attention because they were too different: "I have stood with many other progressives on the
floor of this Congress...Pick up the newspaper. You never see one word about that, and we
wonder why...I dream of the day when many of my colleagues and I can communicate openly
with the American people, with no one distorting, no one deciding that Ron Dellums is too
radical to quote."
Convention