CONFLICT IN THE SPHERE OF CONSENSUS - CRITICAL REPORTING ON THE PANAMA INVASION AND THE GULF-WAR

The indexing hypothesis holds that when there is consensus in Washingt on, media coverage supports, and in effect promotes, government policy . This is surprising, as American journalists believe that they are no t merely chroniclers of official words and deeds. The indexing hypothe sis is correct that journalists are not likely to question a policy de cision that wins bipartisan support in Washington. What they are likel y to question is the ability of the government to execute a decision i t has made, investigating the possibility that existing policy, on its own terms, might not work. This form of journalism finds conflicting possibilities in the government's effectiveness in achieving its own g oals, but does not present the policy decision that set those goals in the first place as open to critical analysis and debate. This article explores this critical angle in coverage of three military interventi ons that won bipartisan support in Washington. Although I argue that t his form of critical coverage makes only a limited contribution to the public sphere, it may explain the perception outside the media studie s literature that American journalists are independent and critical of government.