ABSTRACT
Even though public regard for the professions is low, as demonstrated in all recent public opinion polls, there is little reason to doubt that the professions of law, medicine, accounting, journalism, and even the military officer caste are high-status occupations. As auditors and accountants become increasingly indispensable for the doing of business, their claim to professional prestige becomes more secure in the public mind. The overriding issue, in medicine as in law, remains that of finding ways to restructure the accreditation, licensing, and certification process to insure that the public interest is protected by procedures devised and enforced by the profession. Many journalists would object to the inclusion of journalism among the self-regulated professions. The electronic media are regulated more extensively by the government, on the theory that the channels of radio and television communication are limited, thus requiring some restrictions on access to the broadcast channels and to the fairness of the presentation.
