ABSTRACT
News media hostility to bureaucracy is a fixed field in American political culture that has its roots in the 18th century anti-government motive of the founding of the republic. Contemporary negative coverage must be understood as deeply embedded. All responses to it must be based on that premise. While some public administrators in occasional situations may receive positive coverage, that is the exception, rather than the rule. Civil servants need to accept this harsh media environment rather than bemoan it. Constructive responses can include professionalizing agency public information activities, being sensitive to public relations implications during the policy development process and, with the development of more sophisticated E-government technologies, bypassing the media to reach the public directly.
