| This study explores how well the network evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC covered national security issues during similar periods in 1983, 1985, 1990, 1991, and 1994. Full transcripts were used to analyze network news reports by topic, beat, date, length, and quality of reporting, among other variables. Where patterns of problematic coverage were identified, further content analysis was conducted. Key problems were identified in coverage of arms control, the defense budget, weapons, defense industry, and in foreign policy coverage of Central America, especially during the 1980s' periods. A chapter is devoted to each of these areas. Another chapter examines why network coverage fell short.; The reasons for inadequate coverage included journalistic lapses in adherence to their own standards of fairness, accuracy, and objectivity, and a heavy reliance on generalists and anchors when the newscasts reported on these complex issues. Overall, anchors, White House correspondents, and other general beat correspondents reported more often on national security than did State Department, Pentagon, and foreign correspondents.; In addition to chapters on each of the problem areas, the study includes a case study on print and network coverage of the B-2 bomber, one on the Romanian Revolution, a brief chapter on network use of expertise during the Gulf War, and a chapter on the news habits of national security policy-makers.; Given the public reliance on the media, especially television, for information on national security, and the responsibility the government has to provide for the common defense, inadequate coverage could certainly affect public understanding of, and support for, particular policies.; The aim of the study was not to render any judgments on the particular policies of particular administrations; rather, it was to determine the nature and quality of network coverage of national security issues.; The study calls for more network reliance on specialized beats, and for more network attention to providing adequate context and background when reporting on national security. |
