ABSTRACT
Evaluating news media performance in terms of the expectations of the framers of the Amendment is an exercise in futility. Elections, once considered as celebrations of participatory democracy, seem characterized by politicians selling symbols while obfuscating issue positions, advertising centering on personal attacks and primal fears, episodic and horse race media coverage, and campaigns directed by image merchants and spin doctors. The print media enhance information gained during political campaigns and the likelihood of participation as well. It is easy to quarrel with the quality of political choices and to accuse the media of fostering cynicism about politics that limits more thorough processing of information. In their most extreme form, news media critiques view television as a necessary and sufficient cause of many of the problems with the political system. Exclusive focus on television as the cause of political problems may divert attention from the shared responsibilities of media and political systems.
