The mechanisms of management control at the New York Times

Abstract

Many explanations for news media behavior focus on the biases of journalists, neglecting the structural constraints they face. Others have theorized that the power of ownership limits the autonomy of reporters and represents a significant influence on news coverage. This article examines the internal records of the New York Times and identifies several mechanisms of management control. Editors suggest the tone and substance of stories and later the content and significance of stories that reporters submit. Owners establish editorial polices and intervene directly in news decisions. And they shape the ideological environment through their power to hire, promote and fire.

Organizational Production of Self-Censorship in the Hong Kong Media

“…Promoting relatively conservative journalists to top positions is an important means for conservative news organizations to exercise internal control, but the question of how to ensure the conformity of other journalists in the frontline would still exist. Studies by Breed (1997), Chomsky (1999Chomsky ( , 2006, Gans (1979), and others have all pointed toward various informal mechanisms and interactive dynamics that contribute to newsroom social control. There are two major reasons informal mechanisms are important.…”

The Hidden Costs of Financial Conflicts of Interest in Medicine

“…The mechanisms of propaganda of Chomsky [19] may illustrate what has occurred in medicine in the past decades. Corporate interests have fused with academic medicine to create an unhealthy alliance that works against the objective reporting of clinical research (censorship), sets up meetings and symposia with the specific purpose of selling the participants to the sponsors (engineering opinions), gets its prodigal experts into leading roles in journals, medical associations and nonprofit research organizations (using the public relations industry) and provides the appropriate degree of retaliation to outliers (marginalizing dissident cultures).…”

“…All these aspects were taken care of, and the clinician who wanted to retain a cautious and balanced attitude (for instance believing that the judicious use of benzodiazepines may be warranted) felt like the person whom Chomsky depicts as sitting alone in front of the TV, thinking he/she must be crazy or outdated for not buying what comes out of the tube [19] .…”

Uwagi o czynnikach jakościowych w metodach nauk społecznych

“…Widoma fascynacja nowymi perspektywami analitycznymi, metodologią Foucaulta, wywiadem narracyjnym, zdaje się tylko wyrazem bezradności wobec tego, co nowe i potąd niewyjaśnialne. A celem nauki "jest poszukiwanie dobrych wyjaśnień dla wszystkiego, co według nas potrzebuje wyjaśnienia" -zauważał K. Popper i z taką sugestią nie próbuje się polemizować 6 , bo zadaniem nauki nie jest utrzymywanie uczonych i ośrodków badawczych 7 . To z kolei wcale nie kłóci się z założeniami teorii krytycznej, gdyż krytyka inspirująca zmianę nie może kwestionować rozumienia i wyjaśniania odbiegających od ogólnie w nauce akceptowanych.…”