Press Independence In Newspaper Coverage Of The 2009 Health Care Debate,
2010
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Press Independence In Newspaper Coverage Of The 2009 Health Care Debate, Matthew Holt Barnidge
LSU Master's Theses
This study examines press independence from the government in the 2009 national health care debate. Through a content analysis examining source expressions, or the words journalists attribute to various people in the news, the study captures the essence of the discourse represented in the news about the debate. This paper also outlines a distinction between various types of autonomy, and offers a new conceptualization of independence. Procedural autonomy, which is autonomy in journalistic norms and routines, does not necessarily result in content autonomy, which is autonomy of viewpoints expressed in the news. In other words, if non-governmental sources say substantially …
