Sources in television coverage of automotive strikes

Abstract

Both business and labor have complained about their image on television, each charging unfair coverage by television journalists. A content analysis of network television news found that more than two‐thirds of all automotive strike stories used a labor source, while fewer than one‐third used a management source. A labor actor was present in almost all stories, while fewer than half of the stories had a management actor. The study speculates that television journalists view a strike as a labor, rather than a management, event. The nature of the event, as well as labor and management actors’ varying propensities to respond to queries by journalists, may partially account for the findings.