Press Criticism Research Articles

Urban Election System in Russia at End of 19th Century: Criticism in Provincial Periodicals

The article provides a first-time examination of the evaluations of the urban election system in the Russian Empire during the period of 1890-1892, when the preparation and implementation of the new City Regulations were taking place. The study is based on materials from private provincial periodicals. The author highlights the essence and content of the criticism of the provincial press towards the institution of urban elections. The article presents the attitudes towards the issue of social composition of urban self-government bodies as revealed in the periodical press. Positions on the issue of suffrage and proposals for its expansion through tax and educational qualifications are identified. The analysis includes assessments of the national composition of city councils and urban administrations on the outskirts and within Jewish settlements. It demonstrates how the formation of parties based on national identity in urban self-government bodies was covered in the periodicals. Discussions on the merger of powers between the heads of administrative and executive bodies of urban self-government are examined. Satirical poems, which characterize the recorded attitude towards council members and provincial assemblies in pre-revolutionary Russia, who dishonestly perform their duties and disrupt city council meetings, are introduced into scholarly circulation. Satire targeting corrupt intentions of council members is also discussed.

Should we be leery of being Leary? Concerns about psychedelic use by psychedelic researchers.

Psychedelic research is proceeding rapidly, despite ongoing legal and regulatory barriers and lingering questions about study design, such as the difficulty of ensuring adequate blinding, the relative overrepresentation in studies of participants who have previously used psychedelics, and the importance of personal experience with psychedelics for those who provide psychedelic-assisted therapy. Here we wish to explore a distinct concern: whether personal use of psychedelics by researchers could threaten the objectivity and ethical conduct of psychedelic research itself. In 2020, Anderson et al. suggested that psychedelic use could lead even "conservative individuals to become wildly enthusiastic about the potentials of psychedelics to heal and transform". Recent popular press criticisms of psychedelic science, in particular critiques of the MAPS Phase II and Phase III MDMA-Assisted Therapy trials for PTSD, have also raised questions about whether personal use of psychedelic drugs by psychedelic therapists could compromise scientific objectivity, lead to the exploitation of research subjects, or promote biased reporting of results. Here, we elaborate on and attempt to delimit these concerns, with the goal of informing policy related to psychedelic research and the eventual clinical use of psychedelics. In particular, we explore whether the possibility that psychedelic use can directly and positively affect investigators' enthusiasm about psychedelics themselves raises concerns about bias and scientific integrity. We then discuss several practical strategies to reduce perceived conflict of interest.

Newspaper Medicine: Medical Journals Attack the Press, 1898-1909

ABSTRACT This research examines the fierce criticism of newspapers voiced in American medical journals from the mid-1890s until 1910. Primarily published to inform readers about new discoveries, successful treatments, technological innovations, and accomplishments of colleagues, the journals did, during the era discussed here, find it necessary to bring up what they saw as problems within the press. One of their primary concerns was the multitude of advertisements for patent medicines and other medical matters, and medical editors frequently claimed that the dependence of newspaper publishers on this kind of advertising corrupted their entire publishing enterprise and went against the greater public good. However, advertising was not the only problem area when it came to the press. News coverage of medical matters was ill-informed and intrusive, and it was conveyed to the public by reporters who lacked knowledge of medicine and were not above inventing facts and by editors who sought sensational angles to boost readership. To some extent, medical journals sought to make the case for their press criticism by referring to similar concerns voiced elsewhere in society at the time, for instance in muckraking magazines, but the criticism in the journals was also rooted in peculiar issues facing the medical profession. Chief among these was the relatively low social standing of physicians in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Doctors worried that the public held them in low esteem, and newspapers, the “powerful enemy,” were one of the reasons for that. The outcome of the criticism of newspapers by the profession was a policy that urged doctors to shun publicity and avoid contact with reporters. Toward the end of the 1900–1910 decade, some physicians began to question that policy. They pointed out that, as public health and preventive medicine rose in prominence among the tasks of the typical doctor, a way needed to be found to reach the public. Newspapers were “the greatest educational medium for the masses,” and doctors should come to terms with that.

Covering a Complicated Legacy with a Sledgehammer: Metajournalistic and Audience Discourse After Kobe Bryant’s Death

ABSTRACT This research analyzes journalists’ and audiences’ responses to a critical incident: the coverage of Kobe Bryant’s death, including whether it included accusations against Bryant, and of the Washington Post’s brief suspension of reporter Felicia Sonmez, who, at his death, retweeted an old storey about rape charges filed against Bryant. Findings are that journalists focused on the complexity of Bryant’s legacy and emphasized the journalistic values of professionalism and truth. Moreover, while journalists engaged in some boundary setting, this research suggests the value of seeing audiences as press critics not unlike professional journalists. Audiences acknowledged and endorsed journalistic principles but noted the importance of social norms; their expectations for good journalism suggest ways to rebuild trust in journalism.

THE PERCEIVED LEVELS OF INTOLERANCE FOR PRESS CRITICISM IN PAKISTANI SOCIETY

This study examines the existence, intensity and impacts of intolerance for Press criticism in Pakistani society. It’s generally believed that intolerance for Press criticism leads to professional and psychological complexes for the Press to play its role as a voice for unvoiced and to hold those in power accountable because the Press’s role as the Watchdog compulsively needs high capacities of tolerance in the society to understand the realities and habituate rationalism. As working journalists have to face the direct reaction from masses regarding Press criticism so this paper explores journalist’s perceptions about the presence of intolerance in the societal frame of Pakistan regarding Press’s criticism using survey technique under Likert Scale. The study also incorporates the impacts of intolerance on professionalism in media that induce threats to journalists and compel them to exercise self-censorship which ultimately results in content biases, depriving the citizens of fundamental right of expression. The conclusion provides guidelines for policy making on the subject of Press freedom and social coherence. Also, this study enhances understandings regarding the social sphere of the country and gauges the level of intolerance for media discourses.

When Women’s Football Came to the Island

This article looks at the early development of women’s football in Ireland, examining the cultural impact of the first women’s matches, and how this early heritage has laid foundations for future developments. Women took to playing association football not long after it was first established as a male bastion during the latter half of the nineteenth century. These early matches attracted large crowds, public and press criticism, and in some instances social disorder. The article first examines how the Irish press presented this sporting innovation and the first exposure to actual matches when the British Ladies Club arrived to play in Belfast in early June 1895. Beyond the expected disapproval, there is evidence that debate took place on women’s general role in society, and in particular how females could engage in sport. Also examined is the way British Ladies Club presented themselves as upper-middle-class, and how this contrasted with the way they were portrayed in the press. New research is presented, which casts doubt on the club’s middle-class image and shows how friction between the club and its main sponsor arose when a true picture of the players’ backgrounds came to light. In conclusion, the author contrasts the Irish response to the British Ladies Football Club with the women’s sides that played during World War I and the post-war period. It is shown that the early matches of the 1890s paved the way for a more appreciative and accepting audience.

Journalism Hybridization in Postcolonial Societies: Paradigm Adaptation Tensions in Post-Apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT A news reporting scandal implicating South Africa’s Sunday Times in allegations of facilitating state capture during the regime of former president Jacob Zuma provoked debate over the proper journalistic practice, roles and guiding ethical values between journalists and press critics (e.g., academics). The majority of journalists defended the liberal normative news paradigm, while others joined hands with academics in questioning some of the norms’ adequacy in the post-apartheid socio-political and technological context. The study argues that what emerges here is neither traditional paradigm repair nor paradigm reconsideration but tensions over paradigm adaptation to modify conventional journalism norms to suit the South African context. In other words, the scandal reignited post-apartheid debates about the role of the news media and what professionalism means.

Audiences as Agents of Collective Memory – Implications for Press Criticism and Journalism Boundaries

ABSTRACT Through textual analysis of Facebook comments on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s (ZBC) page, ZBC-TV News Online and Twitter hashtag, #RIPJudithMakwanya, the study explores how ordinary people remembered the station’s veteran broadcaster upon her death in 2019. This was combined with interviews to understand journalists’ reactions to the commentary. The study argues that digital platforms now allow press criticism on a public forum, enabling citizens to form their own interpretive communities and police each other. However, political economy factors undermine press criticism’s effectiveness in shaping journalism.

Gustaw „Gamaston” Kamieński i Stanisław Graybner – dwaj ostatni debiutanci z kręgu Szkoły Głównej Warszawskiej. Drogi życia i literatury

In the article, there have been portrayed silhouettes of the two Main School of Warsaw alumni, who were the last to debut as the men of letters – Gustaw “Gamaston” Kamieński and Stanisław Graybner. The author pictures life choices as well as writing selections of the writers who had studied amongst the positivistic exemplars, however, their first literary work was published on the eve of the Young Poland period, thus their careers represent this exact literary period. The novelty of the article is that so far in the literary researches their names have been completely left out. According to press criticism dated on the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the author proves that the late debuts did not help the aforementioned writers – even though they specialized in different literary genres (Kamieński in prose, Graybner in drama) they both created their work as if on the literary margins of the Young Poland period. Although their first work raised attention and the favor of receivers, the next ones brought only failures most of the time.

Critical coverage: How the media criticize supreme courts—Evidence from Israel

AbstractThis paper examines media criticism of the Israeli Supreme Court from 2002 to 2011 in two newspapers. We analyze the nature and patterns of press criticism in different contexts by 1) distinguishing between diffuse and specific criticism and 2) by analyzing criticism separately from political framing and the tone of the article. We find that the increase in diffuse criticism and political framing over time was often balanced with counter‐criticism, resulting in a neutral or even positive tone toward the Court. This complex picture enables a more sophisticated understanding of the nature and implications of criticism of supreme courts in the press.

Digital Press Criticism: The Symbolic Dimensions of Donald Trump’s Assault on U.S. Journalists as the “Enemy of the People”

Digital press criticism, or the use of non-journalistic platforms as a means for critiquing journalism, is made possible by digital technologies that circumvent traditional media channels. This form of criticism is not marginal, but indeed is increasingly central within the political communication environment. This can be seen in President Donald Trump’s persistent attacks on U.S. journalists. This article examines how journalists responded to two episodes of digital press criticism, in 2017 and 2019, when Trump used Twitter to affix the incendiary label of “enemy of the people” to journalists. This article explores the propensity of the journalistic community to use frames that individualize Trump by promoting his agency as paramount. We argue that this framing obscures and downplays, if not outright ignores, how far-right politicians utilize emergent channels of digital press criticism to undermine journalism’s epistemic legitimacy and raise questions about its social role.

‘Ain’t Misbehavin’

This article looks at recent cases of judicial misconduct and alleged judicial misconduct. These include examples of judicial bias, or the appearance thereof, in relation to parties and to lawyers and failure to recuse oneself, judicial reaction to press criticism, judges using their court computers to watch pornography, a judge responding to a defendant’s bad language by using bad language herself, a judge with outdated views about rape and whether another judge’s comments about rape in passing sentence were validly criticized. The way in which the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office and other judges have dealt with complaints of judicial misconduct is discussed and in some cases found wanting.
 Keywords: judicial misconduct, judicial discipline, bias, recusal, pornography, rape

Electoral Reckonings: Press Criticism of Presidential Campaign Coverage, 2000-2016

ABSTRACTThe cyclical nature of presidential elections provides regular opportunities for journalists to reflect on patterns in election coverage. This study presents a textual analysis of press criticism of presidential election coverage from 2000 to 2016. We identified three prevalent ethical issues in press criticism over this period: Failing to exercise independent judgment; Failing to provide a representative picture of the electorate; and Underestimating new and emerging technologies. We also observed a broader debate throughout press criticism about whether journalists should act as neutral disseminators of information or be impassioned advocates for the truth, the public, and their own role in democracy. Finally, we noted the peculiarities of the 2016 election and what Donald Trump’s conduct, attitude to the press, and ultimate victory meant for the ethics and practices of traditional journalism.

Assessing James W. Carey's Culture of Journalism Criticism Four Decades Later: A Case Study of the New York Times Profile of a White Nationalist

ABSTRACT In 1974, the media and cultural studies scholar James W. Carey called for the development of a culture of press criticism, engaging with daily journalism at the same level of analysis of language that literary critics use when assessing literature. This paper examines Carey's call in light of both the developments in journalistic criticism since his writing as well as other scholarly attempts to assess press criticism. Finding a lack of humanistic approaches to assessing press criticism, this paper distills Carey's essay into a more readily usable rubric for the assessment of the critical conversations surrounding journalism, identifying six dimensions of analysis by which to judge the criticism, with a focus on the criticism of language and a dialogic relationship between the press and the public. Finally, the paper applies the rubric to a case study of the response to a New York Times profile of a white nationalist. Dozens of works of criticism—public commentary, essays by scholars, satire, and public discussion—were published in response to the piece. This paper concludes that the beginnings of Carey's culture of criticism may finally exist, aided by social media tools that allow a broader public to participate in the critical conversation.

Normative and Positive Social Work in the Context of the Placement Decision: A Defence of Social Workers

Two fundamental questions for social work are considered: one normative and one positive. First, is it possible for social work practice to be based on an objective that maximises social welfare; and second, does social work practice actually conform to some objective, which may or may not maximise social welfare? These two questions are addressed in the context of one of the most important decisions made by social workers - the placement decision. It is argued that deriving a societal objective faces formidable theoretical problems, and that even if a well-defined criterion was available, actual social work decisions would still be inconsistent due to a lack of the requisite information and different interpretations of the available data. It is argued that the substantial empirical evidence from around the world on the placement decision provides little evidence of consistent decision making. This may be because the statistical analyses have lacked the data and techniques necessary to detect the underlying patterns, or because placement decisions are largely random. The apparent absence of clear objectives, either specified by society or accepted custom and practice, places social workers in a very difficult position, making them open to press criticism and victimization, even though they acted entirely competently.

Prejudice and the Press Critics: Colonel Robert McCormick’s Assault on the Hutchins Commission

Many publishers responded negatively to A Free and Responsible Press, the 1947 report of the Commission on Freedom of the Press, but none more negatively than Colonel Robert McCormick of the Chicago Tribune. Convinced that the report was “part of a plot” to destroy the First Amendment, McCormick underwrote a 642-page rebuttal, Prejudice and the Press: A Restatement of the Principle of Freedom of the Press with Specific Reference to the Hutchins-Luce Commission, by Tribune reporter Frank Hughes. The story behind Prejudice and the Press represents an unknown chapter in the midcentury battle between conservative publishers and liberal press critics. Although Prejudice and the Press is meandering, snide, and suffused with red-baiting, it effectively rebuts a key foundation of A Free and Responsible Press.

State–Media Consensus on Going to War? Australian Newspapers, Political Elites, and Fighting the Islamic State

This article assesses the link between the state and the media in their coverage of foreign policy decisions. It holds up to empirical scrutiny the claim that genuine press criticism can only occur within the bounds of political-elite debate. Taking the Australian government’s 2014 decision to fight the Islamic State as its case study, it explores areas of consensus and dissensus between political discourse and the media. Conducting a qualitative analysis of three media frames used by major newspapers, it tests the “indexing hypothesis” and concludes that some press coverage went beyond the parameters of political-elite debate. This finding of independent criticism has implications beyond the present case study, as it helps us better understand the role of the media in democracies—specifically, holding governments to account when sending their nations to war.

Normative and Positive Social Work in the Context of the Placement Decision: A Defence of Social Workers

Two fundamental questions for social work are considered: one normative and one positive. First, is it possible for social work practice to be based on an objective that maximises social welfare; and second, does social work practice actually conform to some objective, which may or may not maximise social welfare? These two questions are addressed in the context of one of the most important decisions made by social workers - the placement decision. It is argued that deriving a societal objective faces formidable theoretical problems, and that even if a well-defined criterion was available, actual social work decisions would still be inconsistent due to a lack of the requisite information and different interpretations of the available data. It is argued that the substantial empirical evidence from around the world on the placement decision provides little evidence of consistent decision making. This may be because the statistical analyses have lacked the data and techniques necessary to detect the underlying patterns, or because placement decisions are largely random. The apparent absence of clear objectives, either specified by society or accepted custom and practice, places social workers in a very difficult position, making them open to press criticism and victimization, even though they acted entirely competently.

Housing and health – a shared history, a shared future

Purpose The 2017 Naylor Review has been the subject of some controversy, with some of the press, social media and other critics portraying its recommendations as a “fire sale” or privatisation of the NHS. The purpose of this paper is to examine preceding reports into efficiency and best value of the NHS, the evidence behind the review recommendations, and analyse data into housing affordability for the capital’s NHS staff. It concludes by advocating for partnerships with housing associations to deliver social and financial value by utilising redundant NHS land to deliver the affordable housing that London and the rest of the UK so urgently needs. Design/methodology/approach The paper was developed using the content analysis of preceding independent reviews of NHS efficiency, published critiques of the Naylor Review and analysis of NHS produced data to consider the potential savings and opportunities for reinvestment in capital projects. Findings The paper identifies existing partnership models and examples of good practice and advocates the adoption of joint ventures and other forms of partnership to ensure that both best value is achieved from the sale of NHS assets, and publicly owned assets are reused for social purpose. Originality/value The paper uses existing data, analysis and context to map a route for achieving best value in managing the publicly owned asset base and reinvesting the proceeds of the sale of redundant properties into UK public services.

The Accidental Press Critic: Newsroom Ethnography and Resistance to Self-Criticism and Management Change at the New York Times in 1974

In the late 1960s, the New York Times granted the business and organizational scholar Chris Argyris unprecedented access to its newsroom and the newspaper’s management, agreeing to let Argyris assess the paper’s leadership structures and to make recommendations. Argyris found the Times to be the most sclerotic, unchangeable organization he had ever worked with, and the newspaper abandoned the idea of adopting his reforms. Nevertheless, Argyris ended up forcing the Times to examine itself when the book he wrote about his experiences—which he published without revealing the newspaper’s name—was decoded by a journalism review called (MORE). Though his press criticism was accidental, Argyris’s work still fits squarely in the traditions of newsroom ethnography and in Wendy Wyatt’s discourse model of press criticism.