ABSTRACT
In this book I have examined the way in which one research publication, a review of research findings about ethnic inequalities in educational achievement, was represented in the mass media. Against the background of media reporting of social science generally, this is a relatively unusual case, in that the findings received wide and prominent coverage, and were treated for their news value rather than being used to inform a story about some other event. This contrasted with the very low level of media coverage, at best, given to the various studies on which the Review draws. At the same time, it seems unlikely that the Review was reported primarily because it provided new knowledge that demanded dissemination, or because of the intrinsic interest of its findings, as in the case of some discoveries in natural science or in medicine. I have suggested that the reason why the Review was afforded such media attention is because it was sponsored by OFSTED, an organization having both a high public profile and a very efficient dissemination procedure, and because the government responded to publication of the Review. So the substantial attention it received reflects the widely documented news values on which many media organizations operate, in which the activities of governmental agencies and governments are given high importance.1
