FOR A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO TV NEWSPEO PLE

The already considerable influence of TV journalists on public issues is growing. Although several studies have been devoted to this topic i n the United States, it has not been much investigated in France. An i nventory is drawn up of what has been established about it and of what , still missing in our knowledge, needs to be investigated. The statis tical profile of newspeople, the values they bear and the organization of both this profession and the press are examined as well as the imp act on democratic debate. A call is made for research on: current prac tices; the methods of selecting and diffusing information in news staf fs; and the strategies that persons who have information adopt toward journalists.