The Press

American democracy is built on its institutions. The Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary, in particular, undergird the rights and responsibilities of every citizen. The free press, for example, protected by the First Amendment, allows for the dissent so necessary in a democracy. How has this institution changed since the nation's founding? And what can we, as leaders, policymakers, and citizens, do to keep it vital? The freedom of the press is an essential element of American democracy. With the guidance of editors Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, this volume examines the role of the press in a democracy, investigating alternative models used throughout world history to better understand how the American press has evolved into what it is today. The commission also examines ways to allow more voices to be heard and to improve the institution of the American free press. The Press, a collection of essays by the nation's leading journalism scholars and professionals will examine the history, identity, roles, and future of the American press, with an emphasis on topics of concern to both practitioners and consumers of American media.

Geneva Overholser is the Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting, Missouri School of Journalism Washington Bureau. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Ph.D., is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center. Series edited by Jaroslav Pelikan, Yale University and University of Pennsylvania.

DIRECTORY OF CONTRIBUTORSGENERAL INTRODUCTION: The Press as an Institution of American Constitutional Democracy, Jaroslav PelikanINTRODUCTION, Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson
SECTION I: ORIENTATIONS: THE PRESS AND DEMOCRACY IN TIME AND SPACE, Michael Schudson1. Presses and Democracies, Daniel C. Hallin and Robert Giles2. American Journalism in Historical Perspective, Michael Schudson and Susan E. Tifft3. The Nature and Sources of News, Robert M. Entman4. Definitions of Journalism, Barbie Zelizer5. The Minority Press: Pleading Our Own Cause, Pamela Newkirk6. Journalism and Democracy across Borders, John Keane
SECTION II: THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS IN A DEMOCRACY, Timothy E. Cook7. What Democracy Requires of the Media, James Curran8. The Marketplace of Ideas, Robert Schmuhl and Robert G. Picard9. The Agenda-Setting Function of the Press, Maxwell McCombs10. The Watchdog Role, W. Lance Bennett and William Serrin11. Informing the Public, Thomas Patterson and Philip Seib12. Mobilizing Citizen Participation, Esther Thorson
SECTION III: GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS: AN AMBIVALENT RELATIONSHIP, Martha Joynt Kumar13. Government and the Press: Issues and Trends, Martha Joynt Kumar and Alex Jones14. Public Policy toward the Press: What Government Does For the News Media, Timothy E. Cook15. The First Amendment Tradition and Its Critics, Bruce W. Sanford and Jane E. Kirtley16. Legal Evolution of the Government-News Media Relationship, Jane E. Kirtley17. Communications Regulation in Protecting the Public Interest, Robert B. Horwitz18. Journalism and the Public Interest, Daniel Schorr19. The Military and the Media, William Prochnau
SECTION IV: STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF THE AMERICAN PRESS, Theodore L. Glasser20. Money, Media, and the Public Interest, Robert G. Picard21. The Market and the Media, James T. Hamilton22. The Press and the Politics of Representation, Mitchell Stephens and David T. Z. Mindich23. The Legacy of Autonomy in American Journalism, Theodore L. Glasser and Marc Gunther24. What Kind of Journalism Does the Public Need?, Carolyn Marvin and Philip Meyer
SECTION V25 The Future of News, The Future of Journalism. , John Carey and Nancy Hicks MaynardAFTERWORD, Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall JamiesonINDEX