ABSTRACT
This chapter starts from the assumption that television news programmes should have an important place in society, contributing to what Chambers and Costain define as deliberative democracy, ‘a healthy public sphere where citizens can exchange ideas, acquire knowledge and information, confront public problems, exercise public accountability, discuss policy options, challenge the powerful without fear of reprisals, and defend principles’ (Chambers and Costain, 2000: 11). However, the sheer weight of the economic and technological forces now bearing down upon television news journalism raises serious questions as to whether it can still make the contribution that those most concerned with the requirements for a healthy democracy believe that it should. Increasingly, it seems, it is necessary to ask: to what extent is the balance, range and depth of coverage of news issues within UK television adequate for the purpose of ensuring the electorate is adequately informed? This question, which derives directly from the book’s core questions, will underpin much of the discussion that follows.
