Report Summary

American journalists have a different view of the way they do their job than does the public they serve and the leaders they cover. The outside world strongly faults the news media for its negativism. Journalists at all levels are equally adamant in rejecting this charge. They are no more adversarial than they should be, newspeople insist, and no more focused on wrongdoing and the personal failures of public figures than is required to play a watchdog role.