ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses perceptions and practices regarding boosterism in business journalism – when media outlets favor a party, business, or cause, possibly due to internal or external pressure. Interviews suggest the narrower the target audience and network of news sources, the more inherently promotional media may be, and the more deference may be given major advertisers. Some journalists may perceive their duty as inherently promotional toward the community they serve, whether geographically defined or defined by a common enterprise or interest. Boosterism ostensibly conflicts with notions of objectivity, and with ethics codes, which advocate objective standards. Ethical ideals are clearly breached when journalists act in concert with the newsmakers they cover, and at the expense of the audience they serve. Journalism that favors information easily accessed – rather than more difficult and costly efforts seeking accountability – may be inevitable amid the diminution of journalism resources and may increasingly reflect self-promotion from press releases and other source-generated information.
