> The following is an excerpt from a longer piece on a survey by the Pew
> Research Center and the Columbia Journalism Review into news media
> self-censorship. For the complete survey, including tables, go to:
> http://www.people-press.org/jour00rpt.htm
> ---------------------
> Self-censorship is commonplace in the news media today, according to a
> survey of nearly 300 journalists and news executives by the Pew
> Research Center and the Columbia Journalism Review. About one-quarter of
> the local and national journalists say they have purposely avoided
> newsworthy stories, while nearly as many acknowledge they have softened
> the tone of stories to benefit the interests of their news organizations.
> Fully four-in-ten (41%) admit they have engaged in either or both of
> these practices.
>
>
> The poll of 206 reporters and 81 news executives -- 150 from local news
> outlets and 137 from national news organizations -- found widespread
> concern over commercial and competitive pressures. As a result of these
> pressures, say journalists, good stories all too frequently are not
> pursued.
>
>
> There is general agreement about the extent of the self-censorship and
> its principal causes. Market pressures -- manifested when newsworthy
> stories are avoided because they are too boring or complicated -- are
> seen as the most common factor. Majorities in the print and broadcast
> media acknowledge that newsworthy stories are often or sometimes
> avoided because of their complexity or lack of audience appeal.
>
>
> Nearly eight-in-ten (77%) say stories that are seen as important but
> dull are often (27%) or sometimes avoided (50%). A majority (52%) also
> says that overly complex stories are at least sometimes ignored. Fewer
> but still significant percentages report that such stories are not
> pursued because they conflict with organizational interests. More than
> one-third (35%) say news that would hurt the financial interests of a
> news organization often or sometimes goes unreported, while slightly
> fewer (29%) say the same about stories that could adversely affect
> advertisers.
>
> The survey highlights the difficult challenges faced by local
> journalists in the increasingly competitive media environment. About
> one-third (32%) of local reporters acknowledge they have softened the
> tone of a news story on behalf of the interests of their news
> organization; only 15% of those in the national media say they have
> done so. And 26% of local reporters say they have been told to avoid a
> story because it was dull or overly complicated, but suspect the real
> reason for the decision was that the story could harm their company's
> financial interests. Just 2% of national reporters harbor such
> suspicions.
>
> Investigative journalists, who were surveyed separately from the local
> and national reporters and editors, are most likely to cite the impact
> of business pressures on editorial decisions. Fully half of this group
> -- drawn from members of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) --
> say newsworthy stories are often or sometimes ignored because they
> conflict with a news organization's economic interests. More than
> six-in-ten (61%) believe that corporate owners exert at least a fair
> amount of influence on decisions about which stories to cover; 51% of
> local journalists and just 30% of national journalists agree. Since
> this group is comprised of members of IRE, and thus does not represent
> a cross-section of journalists, its responses are not included in the
> total.