The International Journal of Press/Politics

The public's beliefs about controversial subjects like U.S. intervention in Bosnia become known to citizens and decision makers partly through polls reported in the media. This article explores the disparity between the comparatively supportive public attitudes on humanitarian and multilateral intervention in polls about Bosnia and the limited reporting of those opinions in U.S. media and political discussions. It hypothesizes that the press did not fully portray evidence of support because of the post-Vietnam syndrome, the intensity of the opposition, the media's tendency to “frame” stories in simplified ways, and indexing to political positions against intervention. Though a majority of the polls showed support for humanitarian aid and multilateral intervention, most stories reported in the media stressed opposition. ABC's Nightline and Newsweek provide examples of incomplete portrayals. These patterns raise important questions about how fully the media and political debates represent the opinions of the American public on pressing issues in foreign affairs.

This study examines the philosophical battle waged within the National Republican Party between the Old Liberals and the Conservative Right during the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, which ultimately denied the presidential nominees' electoral victory. It is suggested that the Republican Party will not regain the presidency until the delegate-selection process for Republican presidential campaign conventions is altered to encourage moderate delegate selection, which would result in a more palatable national image.

Hong Kong's handover has induced self-censorship among the press in order to curry favor with and avoid coercive pressure from China. Based on a comprehensive survey, this article shows that many journalists perceive their colleagues as being afraid to criticize China but think of themselves as being more courageous. Journalists from the party press are systematically different from those from the market-oriented press. However, market-driven “information newspapers” are moving toward apoliticization and toward accommodating the new sovereign, thus blurring their differences with market-driven “story newspapers.”

Public journalism is challenging the more traditional notions of mainstream journalism. It represents an attempt to connect journalists with the communities within which they operate. It places citizen input at the center of journalistic concerns. In this essay, we examine the origin and development of public journalism. We note a few of the similarities in this movement to the early muckrakers operating at the turn of the century. We then consider the state of public political knowledge and how this affects public journalism efforts. Finally, we argue for educational reforms to aid public journalism in connecting to a more deliberative public.