Developments in News Media

• Investigative journalism


  Most important of several developments in news and media in the 1970's
• Inspired by the Vietnam War and Watergate


  Exposure of Watergate made Washington Post Reporters Woodward and Bernstein national heroes
• Exposure of the scandal and corruption was nothing new


  The War and Watergate encouraged countless journalists to seek another career-making scandal
• Some believed journalism played an essential role in maintaining American Democracy
• Others feared that Watergate encouraged journalists to make big scandals out of the relatively trivial and felt that the War and Watergate gave the press an exaggerated sense of its own importance in politics
• Expansion of TV news coverage

  Linked to the development of news and media
• News programmes became the most successful programmes in American history
• First aired the magazine-style CBS News Programmes 60 minutes

  1968
• 60 minutes was fixed in the 7 pm Sunday slot evening and viewing figures rocketed

  1976
• 60 minutes led the way to several investigative journalism innovations
• 'Happy Talk'


  Additional and meaningless comments inserted into news programmes
• Al Primo changed his Philadelphia Eyewitness News format to ABC's New York News Programmes in 1968 and stations across America copied his style
• Increased importance of marginalised groups


  • Women in the News became more prominent in programme content and programmes presentation
• The NOW campaigned for more women on TV and the development of special reports on current issues in the 1970's increased opportunities for women
• Barbara Walters joined ABC Evening News in 1976
• The News media paid far more attention to sexual issues in the 1970's