ABSTRACT
Philip schlesinger, Howard Tumber and Graham Murdock take up a position which is critical of dominant ideology readings of news production – including both hegemonic and propaganda variants. Their contention is that the media-centric approach traditionally adopted in such studies takes the inadequate account of the news production process from the perspective of sources. Whether culturalist or political-economic in emphasis, such work has paid inadequate attention to the communication process as a whole. Specifically, it has neglected the conflictual processes that lie behind the moment of definition both inside central social institutions and within the media themselves. The role played by resources is fundamental. First, there is the extent to which any given source is institutionalized. The most advantageous locations within the field are occupied by the apparatuses of the state such as the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police.
