This afterword to this issue suggests that our deep knowledge of the p
atterns of news content that are consistent across organizations and o
ver time now should be followed by a greater awareness of how news org
anizations and newspersons come up with that content. In particular, w
hile the preceding studies, as well as a wealth of others, conclude th
at the news is ''indexed'' to elite opinion, they also display conside
rable individual discretion for journalists. I suggest that news norms
are not closely connected to news content and that journalistic routi
nes cannot explain the consensual pictures presented in the news. If i
t is the case that newspersons are less preoccupied with reflecting a
legitimized elite than with generating a predictable stream of nonfict
ion stories about the world, we may comprehend their work better by th
inking of them as not so much ''following the trail of power'' as seek
ing to find ways to craft a continuing and compelling saga.