The Press, Presidents, And Crises

This is a meticulous content analysis of how The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune reported and editorialized on presidential performance during six crises between 1962 and 1983: the Cuban missile crisis, the American invasion of the Dominican Republic, the Detroit riots, Three-Mile Island, the attempted assassination of President Reagan and the U.S. invasion of Grenada. The author concludes that these papers participated in supportive "rally round the flag" phenomena and that there was some connection between editorial positions and news reporting. The press was not in any sense out to get the president in any of these instances, White House delusions notwithstanding.