A. Reisner et G. Walter, JOURNALISTS VIEWS OF ADVERTISER PRESSURES ON AGRICULTURAL NEWS, Journal of agricultural & environmental ethics, 7(2), 1994, pp. 157-172
Citations number
NO
Categorie Soggetti
History & Philosophy of Sciences",Agriculture,"Multidisciplinary Sciences","Environmental Sciences
All major journalism ethical codes explicitly state that journalists s
hould protect editorial copy from undue influence by outside sources.
However, much of the previous research on agricultural information has
concentrated on what information various media communicate (gatekeepi
ng studies) or communication's role in increasing innovation adoption
(diffusion studies). Few studies have concentrated specifically on org
anizational and structural constraints that might adversely affect agr
icultural journalists' ethical standards; those that have, focus large
ly on farm magazines. A study of newspaper reporters who cover agricul
tural news found that the most pressing ethical concern is the effect
of advertiser (agri-business) pressure on editorial copy, and that the
ir concerns in general parallel those of farm magazine writers and edi
tors. The majority reported being in situations in which they might be
exposed to advertiser pressure, including pressures to change or with
hold editorial copy. Large minorities suggested that advertising press
ures affect the overall environment in which agricultural journalists
work, and more than one in ten said they allow advertiser pressures to
influence editorial decisions. The newspaper reporters who cover agri
cultural beats showed slightly more resistance to advertiser pressure
than did farm magazine editors in a parallel study.