ABSTRACT
The basic question motivating the research presented in this book is how does the modern, mainstream media portray the U.S. Supreme Court? It is our contention that the media—through its selection of what to cover about the Court and what to emphasize in that coverage—has ushered in an image of the Court as a more political and polarized institution, an institution affected by the personalities on the Bench and their individual policy preferences. And this has implications. Accordingly, the media’s focus on certain events intrinsic to the Court (nominations and confirmations), certain types of decisions rendered by the Court (civil liberties and rights), as well as the media’s determination of which moments in the career life cycles of the justices (retirements) and which attributes about them are especially newsworthy yields an inaccurate (at best) or even warped perception of the Court and its business. This perception in turn might bear upon the public’s attitude toward the Court. 1
